Not Forever Volume 1: Arms and the Girls
by The Emperor of Dreams
Summary: Guardians: those who seek to use their Aura-derived abilities to protect the Kingdoms. Aegises: those rare individuals who can transform into weapons. Beacon Academy: the most prestigious of the Huntsman Academies that train them. A story about Huntresses-in-training, their weapons, and the tangled web they weave. Yuri.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** RWBY and all related characters belong to Rooster Teeth, and I'm not trying to claim differently.

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Crescent Rose**

Two teenage girls stood at the magazine rack at the back of a small Dust shop, browsing. One was dressed in a black blouse and skirt with red trimmings, black stockings and combat boots, and, most conspicuously, wore a red hooded cape. The other, a striking redhead, wore a loose black blouse, a short skirt, and cute calf boots.

"Come on, Ruby, you know I don't like it when you look at the weapon mags," Crescent Rose said.

"Oh, Cress, you know you're the only one for me. I just like to look, that's all." A suggestive smile appeared on Ruby's youthful, innocent-looking face. "Besides, they give me all sorts of ideas on what we might try, later." Crescent blushed and looked away.

"Hey, you two!" a deeper voice called out from behind them, causing the two girls to look up. "Put your hands up where I can see them."

A large man in a cheap dark suit loomed over them, brandishing a business-like pistol. The girls looked at each other, then back at the man.

"Are you robbing us?" The innocent confusion in Ruby's voice almost masked her rising excitement.

"Yes! Now put your hands up."

A small smirk formed on Ruby's face. "What do you think, Cress?"

"I think it's fun to see who I'm going to cut in half, for once." Crescent was starting to smile, too.

"What are you... last chance, hands up now, or I will shoot."

"Go ahead." Ruby stepped in front of Crescent, and Crescent's smile turned fond at the protective action.

"What?"

"Go ahead, shoot me." Crescent could imagine Ruby giving him that sweet, yet somehow still wicked grin she loved so much. "Better make it count, though, because once you've had your shot, I will take mine."

The man suddenly looked uncertain, glancing from one girl to the other. Ruby's stance didn't waver, and Crescent bit her lip in excited anticipation. He visibly swallowed. "Oh, shit..." He pulled the trigger.

Ruby's hand flashed forward faster than eye could follow, and sparks exploded where the Dust-propelled bullet didn't quite touch her hand. Then she stepped forward and brought her other hand up in a blurring punch that sent the man flying across the room, out cold.

Another man, similarly attired, stepped out from behind a shelf and aimed a pistol at them. Ruby grabbed Crescent by the hand and streaked forward accompanied by the latter's excited squeal, bowled the man over, and propelled all three through the shop's front window. The two girls got up, none worse for wear; the man didn't.

More dark-suited men appeared in the window at the disturbance, flanking a tall man in a much more distinctive attire. He was dressed in a white suit, somewhat more dressy than those of the thugs surrounding him, and wore a black bowler hat. Long orange bangs hung from under the hat, obscuring his right eye. He held a cane in his hand.

"Well, hello there, Red... and Red. This is my robbery you're interrupting."

"I really don't think you have the moral high-ground here."

"I don't suppose we can agree to part ways amicably? There could be free candy in it for you."

Ruby didn't respond in words. She was still holding Crescent by the hand, and she gave it a tug. Crescent knew her cue, and she let Ruby bring her into her arms with a twirl. Ruby bent her into a dip like a dancer, her large silver eyes so close to hers, and then Crescent's consciousness dissolved in a red all-consuming flash. The only sensation that remained for her was the gentle touch of Ruby's soul.

* * *

"So what do you have to say for yourselves?" asked the severe looking blonde in a long-sleeved white top and black pencil skirt who had introduced herself as Glynda Goodwitch.

"We got to foil a robbery and fight bad guys with a Huntress and it was _so cool_!" Crescent would have smiled at Ruby's exuberance if she hadn't been so nervous about the situation. She wasn't quite clear on what Ruby had done to get them in trouble, this time.

"That is not the response I was looking for, Miss Rose. Your fight caused tens of thousands of Lien worth of property damage, put bystanders in danger, and, had I not been there, might have resulted in your death." Crescent experienced a painful shock at the words. She looked at Ruby in panic.

"Hey, you can't hold me responsible for what those thugs did. I was totally in my right to stop them. And I made sure they didn't get any shots off I couldn't handle." Crescent calmed herself down. Clearly Ruby didn't feel she'd been in too much danger. Perhaps it was just more adult exaggeration.

"Apart from Torchwick, you mean."

"Was that the ginger guy, or the lady with the great legs?" Goodwitch's eyebrow lifted briefly. Crescent gave Ruby an annoyed glance. "Uh, I didn't mean to imply your legs aren't great, too... I mean... I'll be quiet now." Crescent looked away and huffed.

"Roman Torchwick was the man at the store."

"Ohh. I totally had him."

"Indeed." Goodwitch took a deep breath. "I can understand your youthful enthusiasm, but you bit off more than you could chew. If things were up to me, I'd just give you a stern talking-to, and send you home." Crescent had been under the impression that they in fact were receiving a stern talking-to, but she was not going to contradict the scary Huntress. "But there is someone who wants to talk to you."

The door to the interrogation room opened and a gray-haired man entered, followed shortly by a youthful-looking man carrying a tray of cookies. He set the tray in front of Ruby and Crescent, then stepped back to lean against the wall.

Ruby reached for a cookie, and, at a subtle nod from the older man, grabbed one and wolfed it down. Crescent recognized the man as the headmaster of what Ruby maintained was the most prestigious combat academy in all of Remnant. She didn't feel like eating under the circumstances, but Ruby had most likely burned off a lot of energy. Plus, of course, she liked cookies rather more than most girls. She reached for another as Ozpin bent over the desk to look at them.

"You... have silver eyes."

Ruby cocked her head at Ozpin. Crescent was surprised, too; those weren't what she'd expected to be his first words. He sounded startled, which Crescent could understand; it wasn't exactly a common color. She didn't recall ever hearing of anyone else with silver eyes, apart from Ruby's mother. Still, it was a pretty creepy opening, and she was getting more nervous again. Ruby must have sensed it, as she laid a hand on her arm. The reassuring touch helped calm her down.

"Now, tell me, Ruby Rose, how an adorable young girl such as you learned to do something like this." He gestured towards a scroll held by the quiet man, showing footage from their fight earlier.

Crescent leaned forward to get a better view. She hadn't realized there had been a camera present, but she was happy for it. She didn't really get to see their fights outside the recorded sessions at the training halls at Signal Academy. Ruby looked pretty good in the footage, and sexily confident as she gripped her firmly. Crescent looked down and hoped nobody noticed her reddening cheeks. Ruby was so hot when she kicked ass.

"I study at Signal Academy."

"Well, you are certainly doing your part to hold up Signal's reputation. But tell me, how did you two end up settling on a scythe, and a sniper scythe at that? It is an uncommon and difficult form, and not easy to use effectively."

"Oh, that was on account of my uncle Qrow—and Morrigan, of course. He's a teacher at signal. I was useless before he took me under his wing, but now I'm like..." Ruby proceeded to mime martial art moves, complete with sound effects. "Anyway, the scythe just seemed natural."

"Morrigan helped us a lot," Crescent said. "She is sooo cool."

"I have heard Morrigan called many things, but 'cool' isn't usually one of them." Ozpin's eyes went distant for a while. "So, dusty old Qrow taught you to fight with a scythe. And why do you study at Signal?"

"Well, I want to be a Huntress. I have two years left at Signal, and then I'm going to apply to Beacon. My sister is starting there this year."

"Do you know who I am?"

"Yes."

"And you want to study at my school."

"More than anything."

Ozpin glanced at Goodwitch, who huffed. "Well, okay, then."

"Do you mean..?"

"Welcome to Beacon, Ruby Rose and Crescent."

Crescent didn't think she'd ever seen Ruby happier.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Of arms and the girls**

Ruby Rose stood near the landing pads of Beacon Academy and stared at the retreating figure of her sister. "I can't believe Yang ditched us. I was hoping she'd show us around."

"Uh, isn't she just starting here, too?"

"Well, yeah, but she was here for a tour with the other Signal graduates. I bet she'd at least know where we are supposed to go."

"Ember and Celica were there, too. One of them could have stuck around to guide us."

"Nah, I wouldn't expect them to. You know I'd never leave you behind, right?"

"I know, Ruby."

Crescent's fond smile filled Ruby with warmth, as always. She, at least, would never leave her. They were bonded at the soul, and would be together forever. Ruby happily twirled around to take in the sight of Beacon Academy's courtyard and promptly collided with a luggage cart.

"What are you doing?"

Ruby looked up to locate the source of the annoyed voice. It turned out to be an attractive and elegant-looking young woman who wore her white hair in an off-center ponytail, and who looked exactly as annoyed as she sounded.

"Sorry." Ruby handed her the small white case that had ended up in her lap as a peace offering.

"Sorry? Sorry?" The young woman opened up the case, which proved to contain a row of Dust vials in foam padding. She picked one out and thrust it in Ruby's face. "This is Dust, you dunce. You could have blown us all up with your bungling."

The stopper to the vial was loose, and with every shake the white-haired girl gave it, particles of Fire Dust peppered Ruby's face. Her eyes watered and her sinuses itched. She could barely hear the girl droning on.

"Are you even listening to me? Is any of this sinking in?"

Ruby sneezed and her Aura flared in an involuntary response. The sudden reaction was enough to set off the volatile particles floating around her. A small explosion enveloped the crabby girl. When the smoke cleared, she was none the worse for wear, her Aura having absorbed the blast, but the girl's previously immaculate light blue and white dress was coated in ash.

"Unbelievable. This is exactly what I was talking about."

Ruby was still sitting on the ground, trying to wrap her mind around what had happened, when Crescent started to laugh and offered her a hand to help her up. "Ruby, I think you should let me handle the Dust explosions. I'm much better at it."

The girl in white—now gray—wasn't done with her yet. "You could have blown us all off the cliff, you dolt."

Crescent stepped up to the other girl's face. "Hey, she said she was sorry, princess. She didn't do it on purpose."

Ruby always found it cute when Crescent got protective of her, but that really should be her role. She was responsible for her weapon, after all. From the corner of her eye she noticed a girl in cadet gray double-breasted jacket and pencil skirt quietly loading the spilled luggage back on the cart.

"It's heiress, actually."

The new voice drew everybody's attention. Two young women approached the group. One of them was dressed in white shorts and sleeveless top, with black waistcoat and long stockings and boots. She had long black hair and striking amber eyes. She was holding a book and a familiar-looking Dust vial, which fortunately hadn't contributed to the explosion, but had clearly been blown away in her direction.

Half a step behind her was a younger looking girl—though looks could be deceiving if she was an Aegis—dressed in a ruffled shirt, short skirt, and thigh-high stockings, with similar color scheme. The two girls wore identical bows on their heads, which Ruby decided was the cutest thing ever.

"Weiss Schnee, the heir apparent to Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest providers of energy propellant in the world."

The white-haired girl preened and gave Ruby a pointed look. "Finally, some recognition."

"Also a company infamous for its controversial labor force practices and questionable business partners."

"What... How dare... The nerve of..." Weiss Schnee's protests sputtered off. She took a defiant step towards the dark-haired girl with a hand on her hip, then snatched the vial from her hand. She turned on her heel and stormed away. "Come, Myrtenaster. Let's find some more refined company." The quiet girl hurried after her pushing the luggage cart, sparing Ruby and the others a glance that might have been apologetic.

"Sorry! I'll make this up to you," Ruby yelled at the rapidly receding young woman. She didn't get a reply, but then, she hadn't really expected one. She turned towards the new arrivals, only to find that they, too, had walked away. It seemed she was just as good at meeting new people as ever.

"Well, Cress, it seems it's just you and me, as usual."

"So, you meet four pretty young women and suddenly I'm not enough for you?"

"Oh, I didn't meant that!" Ruby pulled Crescent into a quick embrace. "You know you're all I need. It would have been nice to make some friends, is all."

"I know, I was just teasing you." She squeezed Ruby tight for a while, then let go. "I'm sure it'll get better."

"Hello, ladies, room for one more in that hug?"

* * *

Ruby turned at the voice to see a tall, young blond in somewhat old-fashioned armor and sturdy blue pants, but she was more focused on the serious looking young woman beside him. She was very pale, looked even younger than her, and wore what Ruby considered to be a really cool black hooded cape. Despite her put-upon expression, she was very attractive, and had a strange aura of romance about her, like a heroine from an old movie.

"Maybe." It took Ruby a second to realize she'd actually said that out aloud, still staring at the pale girl.

"No," Crescent said.

"The name's Jaune Arc, short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it."

"Do they?" Ruby was skeptical of the claim, but amused by the way he puffed out his chest for the declaration.

"No," the young woman said.

He visibly deflated at the quick negation. "They will, once they get to know me."

"Hey, I recognize you; you're the vomit boy from the airship."

The boy looked dejected. The girl's mouth quirked up for a moment.

"Oh, sorry, I shouldn't have just blurted that out. I'm Ruby, and this is Crescent." She looked expectantly at the young woman.

"Crocea Mors."

The four people stared at each other in awkward silence for a while. Where was Yang when Ruby needed her?

"So," Crescent said. "I'm a high-caliber sniper scythe. What about you?"

"Sword and shield."

"It's a shielth, actually," Jaune said. "Wait, you're a scythe and a gun?"

"Yep! Me and Ruby have spent a lot of time working on my shape." Crescent blushed a little.

"You transform into two separate forms?" Ruby was blushing, too, and decided to change the subject. "That's pretty cool. What about the sword? Anything special?"

"No."

"You don't talk much, do you? Sword and shield, huh? You don't see classics like that a lot these days. How'd you settle on that?"

"I needed a form that was useful fast. It was wartime."

"Wait, war? What war?"

"She fought with my great-great-grandfather in the Great War."

Ruby's eyes widened. "And you never..?"

"He died before we had the time to even consider it."

"All this time?" Crescent said. "You never found anyone?"

"After he died, I looked after his widow and their child. I've been with the family ever since. None of them have been worthy."

"What about him?" Ruby said.

Crocea Mors gave Jaune a measuring look. "He's the only one of the current generation who's even willing to try. We'll see."

"Can't you just..." There were tears in Crescent's eyes. "Isn't he good enough? I can't even imagine going alone all that time."

"I don't want to sully the memory of my first wielder."

"I get that." Crescent looked at Ruby. "I just wish... I wish you'll find what you seek."

"Thank you."

Jaune rubbed the back of his head. "Alright, things got a little more heavy than I expected. How about we talk about something a little more cheerful?"

"Like what?"

"Uh, I've got nothing. Mors?"

The young-looking woman shook her head.

"I just mostly like to talk about weapons. My sister is better at small talk."

"You have a sister? I have a bunch."

Ruby cheered internally. Common ground! "Really? Tell me about them."

* * *

"Traitor." Ruby glared at her sister from on top of her sleeping bag in the ball room of Beacon Academy.

"Can you leave off, already?" Yang said. "I told you, I just wanted to give you a chance to make some new friends. And it worked! Even if it is just vomit boy."

"Jaune's alright. I guess that kinda balances out making an enemy out of Weiss Schnee. I can't believe she sought me out just to yell at me again."

"Yeah, but if you have to make an enemy, she's an inspired choice. As an heiress to a huge corporation, you really couldn't ask for better. Or worse, I suppose."

"Thanks for the pep talk."

"Anytime, sister. Anyway, stop moping and enjoy the moment. It's like a big slumber party."

"I don't think dad would approve of all the boys, though."

"I know I do," Yang said as she leered on two shirtless guys tussling. "You're just lucky he never figured out what you did with Cress. I'm really not sure how he managed to be that oblivious."

"I'm not sure I approve of all the girls," Crescent said. "I never realized Ruby had such wandering eyes."

"What? I do not."

"You've been checking out pretty much all the girls we've come across. I guess you're into older women." Crescent pouted for a while. Then her eyes widened with indignation. "You're doing it right now!"

"No, I'm not. I just saw someone I recognized, I wasn't perving on them or anything. Those two were there when I had the, uh, accident."

"You mean when you exploded," Ember helpfully elaborated from her sleeping bag behind Yang.

"Oh, right, those two." Crescent's eyes narrowed. "Don't think I didn't notice you checking them out then, too."

"I just thought those matching bows were cute, okay?"

"They are really cute," Celica said.

All five girls looked towards the edge of the room where the two young women were reading a book by candlelight. The taller girl was reclining against the wall holding the book, with the younger-looking girl lying in her lap. Even in the gloom it was easy to see her bright amber eyes scan the page. After a while they stopped and focused on the head of the girl in her arms. Her green eyes, which almost appeared to glow in the candlelight, moved over the page for a while longer. She gave a sharp nod, and the other girl turned the page.

"Oh, they are just adorable." Yang nearly squealed in her delight.

"Do you think they're sisters?" Ember asked.

"I thought they looked really similar when I first saw them, but I think it was just the matching colors. Their faces don't really look that much alike, and I never heard of a Guardian with an Aegis for a sister."

"Oh, Ruby, Ember and Celica are like sisters to me."

"Yeah, to me too, but you know what I meant."

"Maybe they're together?" Crescent suggested.

"Well, we can find out." Yang got up and pulled Ruby up, too.

"Yang, what are you doing?"

Yang made a beeline for the reading pair, dragging Ruby with her. Crescent hurried after them. Ember and Celica just glanced at each other and remained where they were.

"Hel-loo. I believe you all might know each other."

The two girls looked up from the book. "Aren't you that girl that exploded?"

Ruby found it unnerving to have two pairs of bright eyes fixed on her. "Uhh, yeah. My name is Ruby."

"I'm Crescent. What about you?"

"I'm Blake. This is Gambol Shroud."

She was definitely an Aegis. They had a habit of adopting unusual names after the Joining.

"And I'm Yang, Ruby's older sister. Now we all know each other."

There was a pause, during which Blake returned to her book. Gambol Shroud remained looking at them.

Ruby smiled at her. "Is it a good book?"

Gambol Shroud nodded in response.

"I love books. Yang used to read to me every night before bed when we were younger." Blake looked up from the book, so Ruby continued. "Stories about heroes and monsters... they're one of the reasons I want to be a Huntress."

"Why is that?" Blake said, seeming amused.

"I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books, fighting for what was right, and protecting people who couldn't protect themselves."

"That's a commendable ambition for a child. Unfortunately the real world isn't like the fairy tales."

"Well, that's why we're here. To make it better."

Crescent smiled fondly and took Ruby's hand. A second later Ruby was lifted from the ground as Yang grabbed her in a bear hug. "Oh, I'm so proud of my baby sister."

"Hey, cut it out." Ruby tried to pry herself loose.

"What in the world is going on here? Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?"

Ruby turned her head to see Weiss Schnee, dressed in a baby blue nightgown and her long white hair open. Myrtenaster stood behind her, quiet as before, dressed in gray pajamas.

"Sorry."

"Ugh, of course it was you."

"Hey, leave my baby sister alone."

Ruby groaned as the situation escalated. She just wanted to go to sleep. With luck she'd be able to stay away from Weiss for a while.

* * *

 **A/N:** The first two chapters follow the show rather too closely, but I'm aiming to write around the episodes from here on. The starting point is canon, except for the obvious AU element, but events will slowly diverge moving forward.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Cold and always yearning**

Weiss Schnee shifted her grip on the rock face, trying to find a better purchase. "Surely there must be an easier spot to climb this cliff."

"What are you complaining about? At least you have your thingies to help you."

"It doesn't exactly make this a walk in the park." Especially as she could barely form a Glyph after overexerting herself earlier.

"Wow, Blake climbs like a cat. Look at her go."

"She could wait for us."

"She'll wait for us at the top. I think you'd go faster if you complained less."

Weiss grit her teeth and continued to climb.

* * *

When Weiss reached the top she received a very welcome hand from smiling Ruby. Crescent, back in her human form, took her other hand and together they hauled her over the lip.

"Thanks."

"Any time, partner. After all, you gave me a boost."

Weiss still found it hard to believe Ruby had run up a sheer cliff, Glyphs for traction or not. Not to mention hauling a huge Creature of Grimm with her.

"Ruby tells me I killed a giant Nevermore," Crescent said, bouncing with excitement. "Did I really, did I really?"

"Well, it was more Ruby than you, but I guess you were the instrument of its death," Weiss said. "I, of course, assisted."

"You did. I couldn't have done it without you." Hearing that acknowledgment from the brightly smiling Ruby felt good. "Or Yang and Blake. It was a team effort."

Weiss looked at the named young women. Blake was crouching and having a silent conversation with her Aegis. Yang had theatrically collapsed on the ground after the climb, but was currently being hauled back up by the shorter blonde twins that were her weapons. Weiss drew Myrtenaster and concentrated, feeling for their connection and sending along the impulse for her to return to her human form as well.

"Were we successful, Miss?"

"Of course we were." Weiss retrieved the white knight piece from her purse and regarded it. "Why would you even doubt it?"

"I'm sorry, Miss. I didn't mean any disrespect."

"Oh, don't worry, I know you didn't. You have always been most dutiful."

"Thank you, Miss."

"What is this 'Miss' thing? She's your Aegis, isn't she?"

"Yes, of course she is. She has always served me well."

"Served you? Our weapons are our second halves, they aren't servants."

"Our customs aren't your customs, Miss Rose."

Weiss wouldn't have remembered what Ruby's last name was, but she could always depend on Myrtenaster. She wondered if she'd been too informal, addressing her as Ruby. No; as fellow students and partners, they were at least nominally equal.

"It's Ruby. You don't have to call _me_ Miss."

Myrtenaster gave Weiss a quick glance.

"I'd prefer it if you didn't get overtly familiar with my Aegis. I don't care how you relate to your own, but we follow our own customs."

"Oh, I didn't mean offense. I'm sorry."

"It's fine."

"Well, we certainly don't need to be that formal," Crescent said and threw an arm over Myrtenaster's shoulder. "You can call me Cress if you want to, Myrtie."

Myrtenaster gave Weiss a concerned look, her eyes wide. Weiss just shrugged her shoulders. Vale customs might not be the customs of Atlas high society, but she thought Myrtenaster could decide on her own how she wanted to relate to her partner's weapon.

"I'd prefer it if you called me Myrtenaster, Crescent Rose."

"Fine. But it's just Crescent."

"Wait, Rose? Are you two related?" Weiss felt like she'd missed something. They didn't really look that much alike. Then again, it was hard enough to see the family resemblance between Ruby and Yang, too.

"No, but we're very close." Ruby blushed. "There's no rule saying an Aegis can't take a name that also contains their Guardian's last name."

"I guess..." Given the kinds of names Aegises tended to assume when they took on their role, there couldn't be very many rules about them.

"When he said 'top of the cliff', did he mean anywhere on the cliff, or where we started?" Yang said.

"Does it matter?" Blake said.

"Uh, yeah. I want to know if we're done, or if we still need to trek back."

"You are done, miss Xiao Long. You have completed your initiation."

Weiss whirled around, startled. She didn't know how professor Goodwitch had managed to sneak up on them, considering the distinct lack of cover. Then again, she was an experienced Huntress."

"Hooray!"

"I apologize I wasn't here to inform you sooner, but I rather expected you to choose an easier point of ascent."

"See, Yang, I told you."

"Hey, I just wanted to see my baby sis as soon as possible."

"You can hand over the relics, and head back to the campus."

"Uh, and the campus is..."

Goodwitch sighed and pointed the way.

* * *

The amphitheater was packed with students. Weiss stood on the podium with her teammates, Myrtenaster a step behind on her left side, as was appropriate. They were the last members of the starting class to be formally inducted. She wondered if she should consider being last a snub, but it could also easily be argued that going last was a place of honor. After all, all the eyes would be on them alone. The voice of headmaster Ozpin echoed in the room, listing their names.

"... from this day forward you will work together as Team RWBY," he said, pronouncing it like the red gemstone. He paused long enough to make Weiss anxious. "... led by Ruby Rose."

Weiss's jaw dropped; she must have heard him wrong. She turned to look at the young girl in bewilderment. Ruby herself looked stunned, too. Yang was the fastest to react, launching herself past Weiss to crush the girl in a hug.

"Congratulations! I'm so proud of you, sis."

"I knew you'd get the spot!" Crescent joined in the hug, abandoning all decorum, but Weiss hadn't really expected anything more from the immature Aegis.

There had to be some sort of a mistake. It was bad enough that the prestigious Beacon Academy assigned partners through something as arbitrary as the first person seen during the initiation, but surely the choice of a team leader called for more discernment.

She wondered how much Ruby decapitating the giant Nevermore had weighed in the decision. Sure, it was an impressive feat, and not something many fresh students could pull off, but Ruby would never have succeeded without her precision performance in setting it up, and the help of her other teammates.

All it really meant was that Ruby was a valuable asset for a cunning commander who could direct the inexperienced fighter. Weiss was the one who had managed to get Ruby to stop her showboating solo efforts and work as part of a team, and it was team effort that brought the ancient Creature of Grimm down. Yes, Ruby was the one who came up with the winning idea, but that would never had happened if Weiss hadn't welded them into a team, first.

"We are leaving the podium, Miss."

Weiss looked at Myrtenaster, uncomprehending for a moment. Then she got herself back under control and followed her team down the steps, head held high. This was not a moment to make a scene. She had missed Ozpin's closing remarks, but with their team inducted the ceremony was over, and students were departing the amphitheater.

"All right, Team RWBY," Ruby said, clearly relishing the sound of it, and her new position. "Let's head for our dorms."

* * *

Ruby consulted her scroll. "All right, team, these two rooms facing each other are ours. Yang, let's take this one."

Weiss cast a cautious glance at Blake. She could live with sharing a room with her. The dark-haired girl clearly wasn't a big fan of Schnee Dust Company, but at least she was quiet, and appeared to be more mature than the rest of her teammates. Certainly it was better than sharing a room with an undeserving underage leader or her obnoxiously boisterous sister.

"Uh, are you sure about that, Ruby?"

"Well, they are identical rooms, but this one faces the courtyard."

"That's not what I meant. We've shared a house all our lives; maybe it's time to broaden your horizons. I think it would be better if we roomed with our partners. It'll help you get acquainted with Weiss."

"But, Yang..."

"I think your sister is right," Blake unexpectedly said. "We should have the partners share a room."

"Now wait a minute..." Weiss said.

"I'd rather room with..." Ruby said.

"Great! It's settled, then," Yang said. "Night, sis."

Blake just opened the door to the room opposite to the one Ruby had picked and led her Aegis through. Yang turned to follow with hers, all three waving at Ruby.

Ruby turned to look at Weiss, looking momentarily unsure. Weiss knew she was mirroring her blank look. "Well, I guess it's me and you, partner." Ruby gave her a crooked smile.

Weiss answered with a grunt, which she knew was beneath her, and entered the room as Myrtenaster held the door open for her.

* * *

The room was a simple one. It was just one long rectangle on the outer wall of the dormitory building, with four beds set against the wall, two on each side of a large window that had a bookcase under it. One end of the room had a door which led to an ensuite bathroom, the other end had a door to a small walk-in closet. There were desks and bookshelves on the inner wall, opposite to the beds.

"Which bed do you want?"

Weiss turned around to look at Ruby. She'd have expected the impulsive girl to just claim a bed, but perhaps she realized she had unjustly preempted Weiss as a leader and was trying to make amends for it, in her clumsy fashion.

"Hmm, I think I'd like the one by the window, on the left side."

"Great, then Myrtenaster can have the one next to you, by the bathroom."

"I can sleep on the floor until we can arrange for a cot, Miss." Ruby and Crescent seemed taken aback by Myrtenaster's offer.

"Nonsense. Beacon has provided us all with identical beds, so I don't see any problem with you taking one of them." Myrtenaster seemed a little surprised, but there was a grateful look in her eyes. Weiss didn't quite understand it. What kind of a person would she be, if she didn't look after her weapon? "Anyway, I'm sure Ruby will let Crescent Rose have a bed of her own, and I don't see why my Aegis should have a worse bed than hers."

"Actually, she won't have her own bed. We'll be sharing one."

Weiss turned to stare at Ruby. She and Crescent were standing very close, both of them blushing. Weiss could feel her own face heating up when she made the connection.

"You're sleeping with your weapon?" Something else finally clicked for her, too. "You married your weapon!?"

"Keep it down, will you? Yang knows, but I don't need it getting back to my dad." Ruby looked uncomfortable. "And I can't marry her, since we're underage, both girls, and she's an Aegis. But we know what we mean to each other."

Weiss just stared at them, her mouth open. Well, at least the customs in Vale weren't that much different from Atlas. She wouldn't put it past Vacuo to allow such marriages. She took a quick look at Myrtenaster from the corner of her eye. Judging by her reddened cheeks and downcast eyes, she was equally scandalized. Weiss made a conscious effort to recover her poise.

Maybe she shouldn't have been quite so shocked, after all. She had heard that those who went to public combat schools were often united with their Aegis at the beginning of puberty, and extended close association at that delicate age could maybe lead to occasional hanky-panky. Weiss suspected her parents had made sure her Aegis was a girl precisely to prevent something like that from happening. Clearly being of the same sex didn't deter everyone.

"If you think I'll allow something like that in our room, you have taken leave of your senses."

"We're not going to do anything with you two in the room, obviously."

"Oh. Well, yes, that goes without saying." Weiss looked at the beds. "Don't you think that's a little small for two people?"

"That just means we need to cuddle up close." Crescent pressed herself against Ruby's back and wrapped her arms around her. Ruby seemed to enjoy it.

"Just watch yourselves when I'm here." Why did she have to share a room with perverts?


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Her devoted shadow**

Myrtenaster woke up at six o'clock as usual. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat up on the bed. She experienced a moment of dislocation until she remembered she was at Beacon Academy rather than in her room at Schnee Manor. It might have seemed a little incongruous that her bed at a boarding school was nicer than the one in the home of one of the richest families in Atlas, but, of course, her accommodations there had been a deliberate statement. The uniform beds at Beacon were, possibly, another statement.

She looked at Weiss, sleeping peacefully in her bed next to hers. There was something alien in seeing her like this, rather than in her bedroom at the Manor with its four-poster bed. Like every morning, Myrtenaster spent a while watching her sleep. Weiss always looked so peaceful in her sleep, with no trace of the pressures she was under, or the mask she wore to protect herself. A tender smile stole on Myrtenaster's lips.

She turned to look at Ruby Rose and her Aegis, asleep in the bed on the other side of the room. Crescent Rose—and wasn't that name a statement—slept on her side, facing her, with Ruby spooning her. They looked absolutely adorable, lying contentedly together. Myrtenaster's smile remained, even if turned a little wistful.

Myrtenaster sighed and stretched her arms. It was time to get up. There had been no time to unpack last night, with all of them exhausted. She would have prepared Weiss's clothes regardless, if the heiress hadn't ordered her to bed. It was uncharacteristically considerate of Weiss, and it had brought about a warm feeling in her chest.

Myrtenaster spent a few minutes doing her usual morning stretches. She carefully extracted clean clothes from her luggage, being as quiet as she could, then slipped into the bathroom. It dawned on her that she shared this bathroom with Weiss Schnee. It was an upending of natural order of things, but she found she liked the idea. It remained to be seen how Weiss would handle sharing it with three other girls.

She took a quick shower, hoping the sound wouldn't wake Weiss up. She performed her morning toiletries as fast as possible. Weiss shouldn't be waking up for a while, but it was unthinkable that she should block her access to the bathroom in the case that she did. She dried herself to the best of her ability and dressed in the bathroom.

She left her dirty nightclothes in the only hamper in the bathroom. Beacon students were expected to take care of their own laundry, and that would take some thought. It went without saying that she would take care of Weiss's things, but she'd have to consult with Crescent on how to divide the labor. Her and Ruby's clothes certainly had no place in the wash with Weiss's.

Myrtenaster returned to the dorm room and was surprised to see Ruby up. She was about to caution her to be quiet, when Ruby lifted a finger to her lips and nodded towards sleeping Crescent. Myrtenaster nodded her assent and stepped deeper into the room to let Ruby pass into the bathroom.

"She looks so sweet when she's asleep," Ruby whispered as she reached her, stopping for a moment.

Myrtenaster was surprised to see her looking at Weiss rather than at Crescent. "She does," she finally agreed.

Ruby gave her a smile before slipping into the bathroom. Myrtenaster watched the closed door for a moment. She hadn't expected the girl to be a morning person. Maiden knew Weiss wasn't. She rose early every morning, but it was more from a sense of duty than natural inclination. She could be quite cross before she got some breakfast and a dose of caffeine in her.

Myrtenaster made her bed and then carefully laid out Weiss's school uniform on it. The design faithfully followed the details of Beacon's exactly described uniform, but it was tailor-made for Weiss, with finer materials than usual. When you were determined enough, you could find the opportunity for ostentatious statements anywhere. Since this one wasn't very visible to anyone not in the know, Myrtenaster wondered if it was maybe a reminder to Weiss that her father considered even this prestigious academy to be beneath a Schnee.

Ruby returned from the bathroom wrapped in a towel. She walked over to her bags and bent down to rummage for a uniform. Myrtenaster hurriedly looked away. Clearly Ruby wasn't as modest as Weiss. Of course, with a body like hers at fifteen she certainly had nothing to be embarrassed about. Not that Myrtenaster had paid any special attention to her body, not even to her beautifully rounded, tight behind displayed so splendidly by her pajama bottoms. Myrtenaster concentrated on sorting clothes while resolutely ignoring the sounds of Ruby dressing.

"Don't you think it's time to wake up sleeping beauty already?"

Myrtenaster turned at Ruby's voice to see her in the process of attaching her red hooded cloak to her uniform jacket. "Are you sure that's allowed?" She kept her voice down.

"Eh, I don't know it's not allowed. I'm not abandoning my hood until someone tells me off." Ruby walked up to Myrtenaster. "Anyway, we should wake up Weiss."

"She's the one you meant by 'sleeping beauty'?"

"Isn't she?"

Myrtenaster looked at Weiss, still asleep despite their conversation. It was a little surprising, considering she was used to sleeping alone in her room. Perhaps the initiation had worn her out.

"Yes, she is." A smile tugged at Myrtenaster's lips. It was hard to be formal with Ruby. "But I don't think you want Crescent to hear you say that."

"She knows where my heart lies, and Weiss is a lot less cute when she's awake."

"Are you sure you want to wake her, then? There's still plenty of time until class."

"Yeah, but we need to unpack and decorate the room, and there's no time like the present."

"Very organized. I'm sure that will appeal to Miss Weiss." It was surprisingly prudent from the young team leader; no doubt she'd anticipated they'd be busy with classwork later.

"Eh-heh. I'm just so anxious to get started I couldn't sleep."

"Of course. Very well, I'll wake up Miss Weiss. Shouldn't you wake up Crescent, then?"

"She can sleep for a few more minutes while Weiss takes a shower."

Ruby looked at Crescent with a tender smile Myrtenaster had seen before. It was strange how something so simple could make one feel happy and sad at the same time.

* * *

"That irresponsible, immature, irritating... insect."

Weiss stormed away from Ruby, still fuming. Ruby's conduct in Professor Port's class had been a final nail for Weiss, which Myrtenaster could understand. The bombastic professor might stray from the point rather too frequently and for too long, but a leader should set an example with her behavior, nonetheless. Ruby had already been advanced two years; she couldn't afford to goof around during lectures if she wanted to have any hope of catching up.

"She's who Ozpin picked to be our leader? Maybe Father was right. Maybe he no longer is fit for his position."

Myrtenaster had to admit her aggravation wasn't entirely baseless, if a little overwrought. So far the young woman's approach to leadership had been largely like a child playing a role. Myrtenaster herself would have given her some benefit of doubt; it had only been a day, after all. Ruby might well start taking her responsibilities more seriously once novelty wore off from declaring herself their fearless leader at every opportunity. Weiss, of course, wasn't the most patient of souls.

"There has to be a way to make them reconsider, right? It can't be set in stone, seeing how lightly he made the call."

Myrtenaster considered responding, but she decided Weiss was being rhetorical. It wasn't like either of them had much insight into Beacon's leadership's decision making processes. She wasn't convinced the assignment of team leaders was arbitrary, though. She hadn't seen any of the initiation, of course, but from what she'd gathered, Ruby had been instrumental in conceiving and executing the plan that brought down the giant Nevermore, keeping a level head throughout.

"Oh, Professor Port."

Weiss hadn't really paid attention to where she was going, and neither of them knew the layout of the Academy that well yet. They had ended up on a balcony, where the Grimm Studies professor was enjoying some fresh air with his aide. Weiss walked up to him, a little hesitantly, and Myrtenaster followed.

"Ah, the young Miss Schnee. And your elegant weapon, of course. To what do I owe this fine pleasure?"

"I enjoyed your lecture." That seemed a little surprising to Myrtenaster, but Weiss sounded genuine.

"Of course you did, child! You have the blood of a true Huntress in you."

"Do you really think so?" Myrtenaster had rarely heard Weiss this excited. Then again, she had fought hard to be allowed to study to be a Huntress; it was understandable if she was happy to receive some validation. She certainly hadn't received any from her father.

"Most assuredly." Professor Port studied Weiss for a moment. "Something's troubling you."

"Yes, sir."

"Dear girl, confide your troubles in me!"

"Well..." Weiss looked up at the professor. "I think I should have been the leader of Team RWBY."

"That's preposterous."

"Excuse me?"

"If Professor Ozpin didn't make you the leader, then you were not the best choice. I've believed in him for many years, and the man's never once led me astray."

"So you'd just blindly accept his decision even after seeing how exceptional I am?"

"My dear girl, only exceptional fighters make it to Beacon in the first place. The skill on the battlefield is not the only quality required in a leader, and your skill is matched only by your poor attitude."

"How dare you!"

"My point exactly. I see a girl before me who has spent her entire life getting exactly what she wanted."

"That's not even remotely true," Weiss said. "Well, not entirely true."

"Do you truly believe that behaving in such a manner will convince those in power to change their mind?"

"Well, I..."

"Tell me, Miss Schnee, did you come to this prestigious academy with the goal of becoming a team leader? Now that that opportunity has passed you by, will you bid us farewell?"

"Of course not! I came here to become a Huntress."

"And there is nothing stopping you from becoming a first-rate Huntress. You wanted to be a team leader, but the outcome did not fall in your favor. Instead of fretting over what you don't have, savor what you do. Dedicate yourself to becoming not the best leader, but the best person you can."

"Thank... thank you, professor."

Weiss's smile was brittle, but there was determination in her eyes as she walked away. Myrtenaster wondered if maybe Ozpin had chosen not to make Weiss the leader to teach her humility. Weiss had been groomed to become an executive for her grandfather's company, and no doubt could have lead a team of Huntresses. It was quite possible that there was a more important lesson for Weiss to learn.

Myrtenaster also had to wonder if Ozpin maybe thought that Ruby could benefit most from being placed in command. Ruby was, apparently, a prodigy on the battlefield, and she had helped Crescent become an exceptionally intricate and dangerous weapon. Perhaps responsibility was where she had the most to learn. She wouldn't be surprised if Ruby grew into the role; she certainly didn't hesitate to take the lead, even surrounded by people two years older than her.

* * *

After classes were over for the day, Weiss took a long walk around the extensive Beacon campus. Myrtenaster accompanied her, of course, but Weiss was silent for the entire time. She was clearly deep in thought. She didn't seem too upset, though, so Myrtenaster hoped she was coming to terms with not being the team leader. Night had fallen and air was getting cool when Weiss finally started back towards their dorm room.

When the two young women returned to their room, they were met by an unexpected sight. Ruby was knocked out on her bed, surrounded by textbooks and loose notes. There was an empty coffee cup next to her pillow. Crescent was asleep in the fourth bed. It occurred to Myrtenaster to wonder if Weiss had indeed spent the entire walk in her own thoughts, or if she had intended to give Ruby and Crescent some privacy.

Weiss stepped up to Ruby's bed and shook the young leader's shoulder before Myrtenaster could even think to do anything about it. Not that she would have; no matter if she would have preferred to let Ruby sleep, she would follow Weiss's lead, as always. It was not her place to contradict the Schnee heiress.

"Weiss," Ruby said as she woke up with a start. "I was studying, I was, but I must have fallen asleep..."

"Shh," Weiss said. "How do you take your coffee?"

"What?"

"Just answer the question." Even when trying to do someone a favor, Weiss couldn't help but be prickly.

"Uhh... cream and five sugars." Myrtenaster suppressed a smile at hearing Ruby's preference.

"Don't move."

Weiss picked up a coffee cup from the table—her own, Myrtenaster thought—and exited the room. Myrtenaster followed as Weiss walked up to the coffee vending machine in the next corridor. Weiss had brought a coffeemaker with her, but using the public machine was certainly faster than setting hers up. Or perhaps Weiss wasn't quite generous enough to share her private stores with Ruby.

"I would have done that for you, Miss."

"I know. I'm not sure it would be quite the same gesture if I sent you to fetch a cup."

Myrtenaster and Weiss watched the cup fill up with hot brown liquid.

"This is not the Schnee Manor."

"No, Miss."

"I'm just one of the students here." Weiss picked up the cup and turned towards Myrtenaster. "Maybe I ought to do more myself, anyway. I can't always rely on you."

"Of course you can, Miss."

Weiss smiled. "You're right; of course I can. But perhaps I shouldn't. Make sure you let me do at least some of my own chores."

"I... if that's what you want, Miss."

"It is."

Myrtenaster opened the dorm room door for Weiss; she had a coffee cup in her hands, after all. She wondered how serious Weiss was about attempting to be less of a pampered rich girl, and how long her attempt would last.

"Here." Weiss handed the cup to Ruby with a smile.

"Ah... thanks, Weiss."

"Ruby, I don't know yet if you're going to be a good leader or not, but I realize now I didn't even give you a chance. I think you might have what it takes, as long as you put effort in it. I just want you to know that I am going to be the best teammate you'll ever have." Weiss paused as a smile formed on Ruby's face. "Good luck studying!"

Myrtenaster held out Weiss's nightgown for her, and she took it with a wry smile and a pointed look. Perhaps she ought to have let her dig it out herself. Weiss disappeared into the bathroom. Myrtenaster resolved to not prepare Weiss's bed for her, and just removed the cover from her own. She collected her pajamas and shot a look at Ruby. She was facing away, busily studying, but Myrtenaster didn't feel quite comfortable enough to change with her in the room.

Weiss emerged from the bathroom and Myrtenaster got up to take her turn.

"Good night, Miss," she said as she passed Weiss. Weiss detained her with a hand on her arm.

"Myrtenaster, we're all students together here. Maybe... maybe you should just call me Weiss."

"Are you sure, Miss?"

"Yes. Let's try that again. Good night, Myrtenaster."

"Good night, Weiss."

Myrtenaster entered the bathroom with a smile on her face.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: The care and maintenance of weapons**

Crescent Rose waited patiently as Ruby waited impatiently for her companions to finish breakfast. Soon enough they were done and Ruby stood up to address them.

"Okay, team, our first class today is History with... Doctor Oobleck."

"You know, we aren't technically part of the team," Crescent said, indicating herself and the other Aegises around the table.

"Of course you are, Cress. What's a Huntress without her weapon?"

"Our initials aren't in the team name," Celica said.

"You are definitely part of the class, though," Weiss said.

"That's right," Yang said and mussed both Ember and Celica's hair. "It's just the same as at Signal. We might do the fighting, but we can't become Huntresses without our support system."

"Alright, team, it's time to head for the class." Ruby turned to lead the way.

"We know, Ruby," Weiss said as she rose up to follow her. "We do know how to get there without you directing us."

"How can you still be grumpy even after you've had your breakfast?" Crescent said. She wasn't a great fan of Weiss. She wasn't a great fan of anyone who was mean to Ruby, or treated their Aegis like a servant. Ruby claimed she wasn't that bad, but Crescent had yet to see it.

"I'm not grumpy."

"You sound a little grumpy."

"Quiet, Yang. And I don't think your skirt is regulation length."

"Of course it is; I just rolled it up at the waist. It looks much better like this, don't you think?"

Crescent had to agree that Yang's skirt looked very provocative, especially with her thigh-high stockings. She decided to copy Yang with her skirt; that should help keep Ruby's eyes where they belonged. She wondered if she could get away with wearing heels with the school uniform. Why did both Weiss and Blake have to have such lovely legs?

"I don't think dad would approve if he knew. Don't you think you're flaunting it a little too much? It's not like these skirts are that long to begin with."

"Oh, like you're one to talk, little Miss Do-you-guys-need-an-extra-bed-'cause-we-have-a-spare."

Ruby grabbed Crescent's hand and lead the group away from the dining hall. She pulled her hood up, and Crescent guessed she was blushing. Crescent was blushing too, and they hadn't even shared the bed last night.

* * *

Doctor Oobleck darted around in front of the class, rarely standing still for more than a few seconds, all the while delivering a rapid-fire lecture. Crescent wondered if he, too, had a speed Semblance. Normal people—not that most Huntsmen Crescent had met counted as such—didn't move like that, no matter how much caffeine they were hopped up on. Which, judging by the coffee mug that never left his hand, was a lot. By contrast, his assistant—and almost certainly his Aegis—reclined at ease behind the lecturer's desk, which Crescent assumed Doctor Oobleck used just to store his notes and his thermos. She couldn't really picture him sitting down.

"Now, before we move forward with your first lesson, let's go over some general concepts so we won't get bogged down in questions later. This should all be familiar material covered in most reputable combat schools, but not all of you come from one, and even the ones that do are sometimes deplorably confused."

Crescent wasn't sure if she should be writing this down. She wasn't sure if she could even keep up, and this part, apparently, was just going through things she should already know. She should be fine just following on for now, right?

"Now, which one of you young scholars can tell me the four major classes we often divide the mankind into?"

There was a small pause as none of the students realized at first they were supposed to answer. Doctor Oobleck nodded at someone sitting behind Crescent. She recognized the voice of Pyrrha Nikos—who wouldn't?—as she answered.

"The humans, the faunus, the Guardians, and the Aegises."

"Excellent, excellent. Quite right. Of course, you will immediately see that what we have here are two overlapping, orthogonal sets of classifications. All mankind are either human or faunus, with the humans being more numerous, and the division is fairly uncontroversial. Whether it has any merit beyond political is another matter."

Doctor Oobleck peered around the class.

"I don't see many faunus here. No matter; onwards! Guardian is, of course, just the title we use for those of us, whether human or faunus, who have an unlocked Aura and training in its use, and typically a known Semblance. This one is a little more contested. After all, Aura is an expression of the soul, and it is believed that any intelligent living being can learn to use it, so this category is neither well-defined nor inherently meaningful. However, it is of some practical use, so we'll have to put up with it, no matter how self-congratulatory the actual title chosen. Only a small minority of mankind are Guardians, though all are believed to have the potential to become one, but of course all Huntsmen and Huntresses are in this group. It is an absolute requirement for an entry into this Academy. You will note that the larger, complementary group—the non-Guardians—is usually not named."

Doctor Oobleck paused to take a sip of what Crescent at least assumed was coffee.

"Last we have the most intriguing and the least numerous group: the Aegises. If you look around you, you will see that the class is more or less evenly divided between Guardians and Aegises. This is typical of the Huntsman Academies, but not of the society at large. Aegises are very rare, even compared to other Aura-users. Huntsmen and Huntresses, however, have favored Aegises for their weapons since the founding of the Academies. It is as rare to find a Huntsman or a Huntress without an Aegis as it is to find an Aegis not associated with a Huntsman or a Huntress."

When Doctor Oobleck paused for breath, he was standing next to the desk. He held out his mug, and his assistant filled it from the thermos he had already opened. A faint smile graced Crescent's lips, and she cast a sidelong glance at Ruby. She was sure they'd learn to know each other as thoroughly in the years and decades to come.

"Traditionally, Aegises are considered a separate group from Guardians, though there are those who suggest they are merely Aura-users with a particular Semblance. After all, there are other known transformation Semblances, and documented cases of inheritable Semblances. A specific Semblance shared by a group of people doesn't, therefore, seem completely outlandish on the face of it, even if inheritance seems like an unlikely method of transmission in this particular case."

Crescent looked around the room, confused, and saw that the other Aegises were, too. She hadn't heard that particular theory before, but she knew it was nonsense. Everybody knew Aegises were different.

"Of course, this is a minority view. There are some things about Aegises that make them unique. Who can name the most striking aspects of the Aegises, beyond the obvious?"

Crescent, along with every other Aegis in the room, looked at Crocea Mors. None of them raised a hand, though.

"Yes, miss Belladonna."

"The Joining. It is a mingling of the souls, and some think it should be possible for any two people, but only an Aegis and a Guardian can Join together."

"Good, good. At the very least, only documented cases of such Joining are paired Aegises and Guardians. I daresay we have many such pairs, or trios in some cases, in this very room. What is the other, related trait only possessed by the Aegises?"

Again all Aegises glanced at Crocea Mors.

"Nobody? The trait I find the most intriguing is the Aegis longevity. As some of you may know, Aegises often spontaneously unlock their Aura and their ability to transform sometime during puberty, if it hasn't happened before, and will not physically age much beyond that, unless and until they Join with a Guardian. Of course, all people with an unlocked Aura age somewhat slower than those without one, but not nearly to that extent. Indeed, it is uncertain if a lone Aegis would ever die of old age. There are not many extremely old Aegises, however, as they all seem to prefer Joining. This has always perplexed me. Why do they all, almost without exception, seem so eager to throw away a chance at eternal youth?"

Crescent could scarcely believe her ears. This man had an Aegis of his own, how could he be so confused? Joining with a Guardian was what an Aegis's life was for. Crescent couldn't imagine living a minute without Ruby, let alone an eternity. She took Ruby's hand under the desk to reassure herself of her presence, then cast one more covert, guilty look at Crocea Mors. She couldn't understand how she could have gone decades without Joining. Jaune's great-great-grandfather must have been a great man, for her to choose to honor his memory in such a way.

"Of course, of course, we all know how Aegises see this matter, but I have to wonder if it's inborn or the result of cultural expectations. But that is tied up with the Aegises' position in the society, which is a topic of an entirely different lecture. Let us not get ahead of ourselves. What are the benefits to using an Aegis, compared to a more mundane weapon? Go ahead, young man."

The answer came from behind Crescent, and he turned to see the tall, blond, well-built man perpetually by Pyrrha's side. She recalled his name was Miló.

"Thanks to an Aegis's Aura, we can withstand blows that would destroy mundane materials, our edges are newly sharp every time we transform, and because our souls are Joined with our wielders, we are an effective conduit for their Aura."

"Good, good, all true. But you left out a subtler advantage. The Aura gives the Aegis structural integrity normal materials can't match, which permits the Aegis to take shapes that would be unpractical with mundane materials. For the past hundred years, at least, warriors have favored transforming weapons with multiple modes, which gives them unparalleled versatility on the battlefield. Attempts at manufacturing such weapons are known from history, but very few of them proved effective."

He took a sip. "But enough of the Aegises for the while. I trust there was nothing here you didn't know before. Now, who can name the major geographical features of Remnant?"

Crescent bent over her notebook as another student answered. Geography had never been her strong suit.

* * *

Crescent lay on the bed and watched Ruby as she sat at the desk surrounded by textbooks. Since the confrontation with Weiss and the talk with Professor Ozpin, Ruby had attacked her studies with an intensity she'd never shown at Signal.

"Come on, Ruby, you don't have to spend every minute studying."

"I do. I'm the leader, so I need to set the example. And I have to work extra to just catch up to the others since we were moved ahead two years." Ruby indicated the pile of notes on her desk. "I'm way behind on History, and don't even get me started on Dust Theory. Grrr, Dust Theory."

"We don't use raw Dust, it's not that important for you, anyway."

"Yeah, but my partner does. I'm pretty sure it's good to have some idea of what's going on with her in a fight. So we don't get in each other's way. Again."

"Fine. Let's go through your notes together. I'm better at Dust, anyway. But let's take a little break, first."

"You don't need to study extra. Just take a break, if you want to." Sometimes Ruby could be really dense.

"Ruby, it's my responsibility to support you."

"Well, yeah, but I feel bad putting you to that trouble just because I got stuck with extra responsibilities."

"I'm proud of you for being the leader, and taking your responsibilities so seriously. And so's Yang, and Ember and Cel." Crescent walked up behind Ruby and wrapped her arms around her. "But, you know, you have other responsibilities you've been neglecting."

"Oh no, what have I missed?" Ruby was almost panicking. It was pretty cute, but not helpful.

"You're also responsible for your weapon."

"Of course."

"And your weapon has felt neglected lately."

"Well, you know, with all the classes, and sharing a room with Weiss and Myrtenaster, there hasn't really been an opportunity for much us time."

"Nobody but us here, now."

"They could be back any minute."

"Myrtenaster is doing laundry, and Weiss insisted on going with her for some reason. Myrtenaster told me they were going to the library while the clothes are in the wash, then maybe to the gym."

Myrtenaster had made it a point to tell her they'd be away for a while. Crescent thought she was a little stiff, but she seemed alright. She bent to whisper in Ruby's ear.

"We have an hour or two, easy. You can still study when they're here; it'd be a shame to waste this opportunity." Crescent kissed Ruby's neck.

"An hour?"

"At least."

"Well... I suppose I have been a little lax with providing your regular maintenance."

"Now's your chance to make it up to me."

Ruby got up and turned around. She easily picked Crescent up and carried her to their bed. Crescent bit her lip as Ruby straddled her, and looked up at her in anticipation of the pleasure only Ruby could give her. As she felt Ruby's small hands slide under her shirt, she knew without a shadow of doubt that she was the luckiest Aegis at Beacon.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Of warrior bonds**

Weiss Schnee was spending her night at the gym, as had become a fairly regular custom for her. She'd made sure to let Ruby know when she planned on getting back, as she didn't want to walk in on any intimate scenes. So far that hadn't happened. To be fair, she didn't know for sure what Ruby and her weapon got up to when left alone, but given how excited they always seemed at the opportunity, she assumed they were doing something. Her knowledge of what that something might be was hazy at best.

There weren't very many people taking advantage of the excellent facilities this late, but then, the entire academy seemed overbuilt for the current student population, and the upperclassmen probably got all the workout they wanted on field assignments. Of the people she knew she mostly saw Pyrrha Nikos, naturally enough, and Lie Ren, sometimes accompanied by Nora Valkyrie, even if her training usually devolved into a weightlifting competition with her Aegis.

There was an open area set aside for combat practice, but that rarely saw use at this hour. Aegises weren't allowed to transform on school grounds outside of sessions supervised by an instructor, nor was any form of drill that risked significant Aura loss permitted. Weiss usually took the opportunity to practice her fencing, not with Myrtenaster but rather against her. With blunted points there wasn't much risk to Aura-users.

"Excellent form."

Weiss signaled Myrtenaster to stop and turned to discover they'd gained an audience. Pyrrha stood at the edge of the floor, flanked by her Aegises.

"Thank you. I didn't know you were familiar with fencing."

"It's not my chosen style, but I can appreciate good technique when I see it."

"Thank you, again. I know it's not a very practical form of exercise, but..."

"Oh, I've spent countless hours doing basic drills myself. You can't perform out there without perfecting the technique in here. It's not quite the same without a real weapon, but I believe your practice blade is built to handle much the same as Myrtenaster?"

"Quite." It had, in fact, been one of the models for Myrtenaster's transformed form. "Of course, my actual combat style relies on my Glyphs and Dust-channeling, so this is really just about perfecting my form."

"Everything starts from the basics. I wish all of my teammates put that much effort in."

"I can say the same. Of course, there's really no way for either Ruby or Blake to realistically practice without their actual weapons." Yang could practice her brutish brawling with just weights on her arms, but Crescent Rose and Gambol Shroud were instruments whose intricacies informed Ruby and Blake's fighting styles.

"True. It's much the same for me with Miló." Pyrrha indicated the well-built young man next to her, then nodded towards the slender young woman on her other side. "Akoúo̱ was good enough to adopt a form that could have been achieved with cold metal."

"I have been wondering about that. Not that I doubt your approach when it comes to combat, but as Doctor Oobleck reminded us the other week, the great benefit of an Aegis is the versatility they afford. Aren't you needlessly restricting yourself?"

"Not quite needlessly; I'm afraid the reason is my limitations as a fighter. I earned Miló after winning my first regional tournament, and we arrived at my current style together, using a regular shield. In those days I had enough trouble just using his different forms and manipulating him and my shield with my Semblance."

"I can imagine. I don't think I could handle that, at least in close combat like you do." Weiss was intrigued by the reference to Pyrrha's Semblance. She still didn't know what it was.

"I'm sure you'd get there with enough practice. Anyway, when I won my second tournament in a row, I was going to decline the honor of the first pick of an Aegis. Two seemed like extravagance, to me, and I wasn't sure I could put them both to good use. I finally assented when Akoúo̱ volunteered to simply replicate my usual shield." Pyrrha smiled warmly at the girl. "It is a great comfort to have a shield I know won't break, and which responds to my control like a piece of my body. We have talked about maybe doing something more with her, but I'm very much afraid I'm currently at my limit of control. Maybe in years to come I'll be able to incorporate something more to my arsenal."

"You are formidable enough as it is."

"That remains to be seen. I have certainly been a successful enough tournament fighter, but we aren't here to prepare for duels. We are here to fight monsters."

"I know that." Weiss knew that came across needlessly harsh. "Do you have much experience with Creatures of Grimm? Until the initiation I hadn't really faced Grimm except in controlled circumstances, like in Professor Port's class. It wasn't... quite the same, out there."

"No, it was much the same for me. Some tournaments included Grimm fights, so I knew I could handle them, but those were much more... predictable."

"I guess there were no caves with lurking Deathstalkers, or insane partners who think riding a giant Nevermore is a good idea."

"No, that there wasn't." Pyrrha gave a little polite laugh. "But you handled the Nevermore well enough. That was one of the most impressive achievements I've witnessed."

That was praise indeed coming from someone as accomplished as Pyrrha. There was a glowing feeling of satisfaction in Weiss's chest, but she knew she wasn't the one the credit belonged to. "Thank you. It is really good of you to say so, but it never would have happened without Ruby."

Weiss was distracted by Myrtenaster suddenly shifting position next to her. She quickly scanned the room but didn't see any reason for it. "She is impulsive, reckless, even childish at times, but she does have a definite talent when it comes to killing monsters. You wouldn't believe it looking at her, but Yang assures me she's killed more Grimm than the rest of the team put together." Weiss wasn't sure about Blake's tally, but then, she knew very little about the quiet and mysterious girl.

"Really? I wouldn't have expected that. She's so young, too."

"Ruby and Yang used to go hunting for Grimm with their uncle, who is a Huntsman. The island they live on is apparently pretty peaceful, but if you go far enough into the woods, there are always Beowolves. Yang thinks Ruby sometimes sneaks out there alone." Weiss would have suspected a different reason for Ruby sneaking out at night with Crescent, but she assumed Yang knew better what her sister was doing. It seemed suicidally reckless to Weiss, and she had been wondering how to confront Ruby about it. Hopefully it was no longer a going concern.

"That is brave of her, but also a little foolish. You should always have someone with you." Pyrrha looked around. "Speaking of which, why is your partner not here with you? I see her sometimes earlier in the day, but you are always alone at this hour."

"Ah, that's... uh..." Weiss wasn't sure how to explain, but luckily Myrtenaster came to her rescue.

"She spends her nights studying. She was moved ahead, so she still has a lot of catching up to do."

"Ah, that makes sense. But, if you don't mind me asking, why aren't you helping her with that? You seem to do very well in class. I know that if I could help a teammate in any way, I'd be happy to do it."

Pyrrha had placed a special emphasis on the last sentence, and Weiss was left pondering its meaning for a while, which distracted her from answering immediately.

"Oh, I apologize. I didn't mean to be so tactless. I just..."

"No, it was a fair question. The truth is..." Weiss fell silent for a second. "Ruby and Crescent are dating, so we are giving them some room."

Weiss couldn't believe she'd actually blurted that out aloud. It was a private matter, and she doubted Ruby wanted her to spread it around. Then again, she hadn't indicated it was a secret, as such. She was fine sharing it with her team, as long as her father didn't find out. Weiss doubted Pyrrha would tell him.

"Oh, that explains it. That's very thoughtful of you."

Was Pyrrha humoring her? Either she had the best deadpan Weiss had seen, or she was genuinely untroubled by the revelation. Weiss could hardly believe someone as proper and well-mannered as Pyrrha wasn't disturbed by the implication.

"How can you be so calm about it? Doesn't it bother you that she's... she's intimate with her weapon? Her female weapon?"

"Not at all. Is there something wrong with it?"

Weiss sputtered for a while. Myrtenaster coughed, no doubt as shocked as her.

"A Huntress relies on her Aura first, her weapon second, and her partner third. It's only natural that she should form an intimate bond with her closest companion. Argos traditions have long sung the virtues of warrior bonds between partners in war, and what partner could be closer than one's soul-bonded Aegis." Pyrrha gave a warm smile to both her weapons and wrapped her arms around them, pulling them close. They returned the gesture by hugging her tight, and Akoúo̱ pressed a kiss on her cheek.

Weiss just stared at them, eyes wide. "You... you are... with both of them?"

"I have always striven to uphold Argossean martial traditions during my career. Ever since Huntresses and Huntsmen started using Aegises, such bonds have been accepted in those circles. I'm not sure why you are so shocked. I have understood it's not unknown in Atlas, either. Or Vale, apparently."

Weiss cast a quick look at Myrtenaster. She was looking at her shoes and didn't meet her gaze. Weiss wondered if she had heard of such arrangements before.

"You appear to have led a fairly sheltered life." Pyrrha seemed amused. "Of course, the relationship between a Guardian and their Aegis is different from others. I wouldn't call it dating, exactly. I expect I will meet a nice young man and get married, someday. My bond with my weapons is completely separate from that, and it isn't any business of my future husband."

Weiss wasn't sure what color her face was at the moment, whether she was white as a sheet, or burning red.

"I, I think I need to get showered and head back. It's getting late."

"Of course. We'll chat again, some other time. Have a good night."

* * *

Weiss headed for the girls' changing room, only vaguely aware of Myrtenaster following her. She couldn't believe what Pyrrha had told her. Why was she surrounded by perverts? How common were relationships between Guardians and their weapons? She had formed a vague idea that it was known to happen, but she had never expected to actually meet people involved in one. Let alone to find herself sharing a room with a Guardian and an Aegis in a same-sex relationship. She hadn't even known such a thing existed until quite recently.

Pyrrha had called her sheltered, and perhaps she had been, in this matter. One of the tutors her parents had arranged for her had explained the basics of... an intimate relationship, but always in the context of her eventual marriage to a suitable young man. Premarital sexual relations were something she had only learned of from fragments she'd overheard from people around her, or from indiscreet conversations with her peers. For a long time she had assumed that fiction featuring such had been just that, fiction.

Weiss was lost in thought and her body moved on autopilot, undressing and walking to the showers. It wasn't until she was standing under the falling water that she realized she was quite naked not forty feet from a girl who... but perhaps Pyrrha's interest was limited to her Aegis. It had never occurred to Weiss that other girls might, maybe, pay inappropriate attention to her in the showers. Not that she had that much to show in the first place.

She cast a covert glance at Myrtenaster, who was washing herself a little way off. It was still odd to be sharing space with her weapon like this. She had never seen her naked before coming to Beacon. In fact, she had never before seen anyone naked other than her sister, and not since they were both children. She had been rather upset to find out that instead of individual stalls the gym showers were all in the same open room. She would have felt more comfortable using the shower at their dorm room, but her pride demanded that she should demonstrate she could do anything the other students could. Still, one benefit of using the gym this late was that they usually had the showers to themselves.

She looked Myrtenaster over as she soaped herself up, studying the lines of her figure. She was shaped much the same as Weiss herself, slender and graceful, with one notable exception. She knew it was utterly ridiculous to be jealous of one's weapon, but she wished she had breasts like hers. Even Ruby had a bigger bust than her, and she was two years younger. Weiss wondered if she would match Yang one day. Weiss didn't want to be that big; she just wished she wasn't quite so flat. Myrtenaster's head turned in her direction, and Weiss quickly whipped her head around, embarrassed.

Weiss washed herself as quickly as she could, self-conscious of her body and annoyed by it. This wasn't the first time she'd used the showers at the gym, and she wasn't usually this uncomfortable. This was Pyrrha's fault. She had to throw a quick look to make sure Myrtenaster wasn't looking her way before she could proceed to wash her more intimate areas. Why hadn't she just used the shower at their room? It was just minutes away, she could have stood to be seen sweaty in the corridors for one short walk.

Of course, Ruby and Crescent were at the dorm room, alone, and it was still a while until the time she'd given them. She had never walked in on them in an intimate moment, but on a couple of occasions it had been obvious that something had been going on not long before her return. Despite the open window, the room had smelled of sweat and wet linen, mixed with a more evocative scent Weiss couldn't quite describe, but which reminded her of nights spent awake in her bed, lonely and restless.

Weiss finished her shower and proceeded to dry herself off. At least nobody had come in to join her and Myrtenaster. Weiss dressed in her school uniform and sat in front of a mirror to arrange her hair back into her usual ponytail. It would have been more sensible to leave it open, but she did have an image to maintain.

"Why don't you let me do that? Weiss."

"You don't have do that, Myrtenaster. I'm trying to do more for myself, and treat you less like a servant and more like a..." Friend. She could say friend, she was sure of it. She was out from under her father's watchful eye, and she didn't need to cater to his ideas of propriety. "A teammate."

"Teammates help each other. Really, I don't mind."

"I don't know..."

"I bet Ruby would help you, if you asked."

"Do you think so? Maybe she would, at that. Very well. You have my permission to..." Weiss cut herself off. "Please, would you help me with my hair?" She could do this. She could be more than a spoiled heiress.

"It would be my pleasure, Weiss." Weiss saw Myrtenaster's smile in the mirror, and responded with a smile of her own.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Always by your side**

Ruby sat at her table, reading a textbook. She was finding it harder and harder to concentrate. She could practically feel the presence of Crescent behind her, demanding attention. But what if Weiss came back for something? It was better to wait a little longer. She stared at the text but she wasn't retaining anything she read. She put the book down and stood up. Crescent shifted on the bed in anticipation.

Before Ruby could move towards her, there came a knocking on the door. A loud, repeated knocking, which suggested to Ruby it was probably her sister. She went to the door, and the moment she had it open, Yang barged into the room.

"Yang! What do you want?"

"I just thought we could have a little sisterly conversation."

Ruby glanced at Crescent. "Can it wait?"

"Nope." Yang popped the 'p' as was her way. She grabbed Ruby by her cloak and dragged her out of the room.

"We could have talked in the room."

"We could have, but you need to leave your room more often, anyway." Still dragging Ruby, she headed for the stairs.

"Yang, let me go. I can walk by myself."

"Fine. Let's go get some air."

Ruby and Yang emerged on the balcony at the top of the dormitory building.

"Okay, Yang, what is so darn important you had to literally drag me out here?"

"Why were you barricaded in your room in the first place? Why didn't you go to the gym with your partner?"

"I need to study! I'm two years behind everyone else, and if I want to be a good leader, I need to do well in class."

"Well, ask Weiss to help you with it, then. I'm sure she'd tutor you."

Maybe she would, too. Ruby remembered that Weiss had said that she'd be the best teammate ever. She already helped her with the homework, to an extent, but Ruby had been reluctant to ask her help with her catch-up work. It didn't feel fair to put Weiss to extra trouble just because she was behind.

"Or Blake, she's pretty sharp, too. Of course, if you did, it wouldn't be just you and Cress alone in your room."

Ruby could feel her cheeks heating up. "I don't know what you mean."

"Don't play coy with me, Rubes. Your door isn't that thick."

"You mean you heard... oh no..." Ruby looked away, blushing even harder.

"Hey, no need to act so embarrassed. The walls at our house aren't any thicker."

Ruby suspected her cheeks were getting as red as her hood. She wanted to sink through the roof to escape the embarrassment. She'd of course known Yang knew about her and Crescent, but she hadn't realized she'd actually witnessed them in the act.

"It's okay, Ruby. I've had some time to get used to the idea. I'm happy to know you are enjoying yourselves—and each other. So are Em and Cel. If anything, we're a little jealous of you two."

"Can we... can we change the topic, please?"

"Well, this is more or less why I dragged you here."

"But you said you were fine with it."

"Yeah, I have no problem with you and Cress, you know that. And I understand that since you are finally out from under dad's watchful eye you want to take the opportunity to enjoy your new freedom. It's great you're taking good care of your weapon, it really is, but she isn't the only girl on the team you should be paying attention to."

Yang's words brought an odd thought to Ruby's mind, and she blushed again as she pictured Weiss and Myrtenaster. And then Blake and Gambol Shroud.

"I... I don't..."

"Not like that, Ruby, you dog." Yang smiled and gave her a playful swat. "What I mean is that being a leader means more than keeping your grades up. You need to lead us on the battlefield, and how will you even do that if you don't know your team? You should spend more time with Weiss and Blake."

"But I do spend time with them. I see Blake every day, and me and Weiss share a room."

"But do you ever talk? You've never been very good at meeting people. When we were kids, you just hung out with me, and ever since you met Crescent, it's been the two of you together."

"You've always tried to force me to meet new people."

"And not with much success. It would be good for you. But you're the leader now, Ruby. Spending time with Weiss and Blake isn't just a good idea, it's your duty as a leader. I'm not saying you can't spend some quality time with Cress; you should. You just can't let her monopolize your time."

"But Weiss is always so... difficult to approach. And Blake hardly ever talks."

"So you're just not going to even try, because it's difficult? Blake isn't that hard to talk to, you just need to make an effort."

"Easy for you to say, you've always been good at making friends." Ruby drew a deep breath. "But you're right. I need to get to know my teammates better. I can't let the team down just because I'm nervous."

"That's my sister." Yang had a huge smile on her face.

"Yang... do you... do you think I'm a good leader?"

"Yes. You are the best choice for a leader out of the four of us, and you are only going to get better. I can't tell you how proud I am of you."

"But you just got done telling me that I'm not doing my duty."

"I'm just looking after you, it's what big sisters do. I know you will do a great job."

"Thanks. Uh, do you think I should go to the gym with Weiss?"

"It couldn't hurt. But how about you start with Blake? She's in the library right now. You could ask her if she'd help you study."

"Yeah. Yeah, I could do that. It's probably easiest to get her to talk if it's about books."

"Oh, she has other interests as well. But that's a place to start." Yang turned and headed for the door. "See ya, sis."

* * *

Ruby entered the library, trailed by Crescent, and looked around for Blake and Gambol Shroud. She couldn't see them from the door, so she headed deeper into the stacks. She had become tolerably familiar with the library in her quest to cover the material she'd skipped with the last two years of primary combat school. She headed for the more secluded reading tables in the far corner of the library, thinking that Blake would probably appreciate the privacy they afforded. She was proved right as she caught sight of the two girls she sought, sitting close together by a table and again reading the same book.

"Hey, Blake. Whatcha reading?"

"Ruby." Blake looked up from her book. "Crescent. What brings you two here?" Gambol Shroud looked up as well, but remained silent.

"I was looking for you. I don't want to interrupt you or anything, but I was wondering if you could maybe help me with schoolwork sometime?"

"Yang told Ruby to socialize with the rest of the team more."

"Cress, you're not supposed to just blurt that out!"

Blake smiled. "Yeah. She keeps badgering me, too. Maybe she does have a point. I don't really know that much about you."

"I bet you know plenty about Yang."

"Well, I know lots of superficial things. She does like to talk."

"While you are more of a silent, mysterious type." Ruby stepped closer to the table. "Can I sit down? I mean, may I sit down?" Weiss would be so proud of her for getting that right. Well, less cross with her, anyway.

"Sure." Blake closed the book and watched Ruby as she sat. Gambol Shroud was watching her too. Ruby still found two pairs of bright eyes watching her in silence unnerving. She focused her attention on Gambol Shroud.

"So, uh. A Variant Ballistic Chain Scythe, huh? I think you are the coolest weapon in Beacon." Crescent Rose gave a meaningful cough as she sat down. "Apart from Crescent, naturally."

Gambol Shroud blushed at the comment and looked down. "Thank you." Her voice was quiet, but it was the first time Ruby remembered the Aegis speaking to her. She had expected her to just remain silent as usual.

"That's really unusual. How did you end up with it?"

"Bit by bit. You know how it is," Blake said. "I kept coming up with new ideas on how to use my weapon, and she kept discovering new aspects to her talent. I'm very mobile, and I wanted a flexible weapon."

"Where did you learn to fight? I don't even know where you are from."

"I didn't go to a combat school, if that's what you are asking. I was raised outside the kingdoms. You have to know how to fight to survive there. I don't have a lot of formal training, but I think I have more practical experience than most students at Beacon."

"I can believe that. I have seen what it's like out there, a little. You're very good, though. I guess you didn't have any trouble with the exams."

"No, I didn't. That was one of the reasons I chose Beacon, actually. Ozpin claims that anyone can study here if they can earn a spot, and so far that seems to be true."

"Why would you even doubt that? He's pretty great. A little odd, but he runs the best Academy on Remnant."

"I don't know what the other ones are like, so I won't comment on that. But I imagine Weiss could have gone to any Academy she wanted, and she came here rather than staying in Atlas."

"Yeah, and Pyrrha came here, too, so she obviously figured it's better than the one in Mistral."

"Maybe. Though I must say Beacon is a little short on academics. I was surprised by how easy the theory portion of the exam was."

"Well, it is a school for training Huntresses and Huntsmen." Ruby tilted her head to the side. "How did you even study for it, out there?"

"I read books." Blake nodded at the tome before her. "It's not like we were completely cut off."

"I guess. You haven't had any trouble keeping up with classes?"

"No. If anything, I was over-prepared. I find some of the classes pretty dull, to be honest, since there's very little new material."

"I wish I had that problem. I'm still scrambling to catch up."

"I shouldn't say this, maybe, but you could probably pass the classes without putting in that much effort."

"Maybe, but since I'm the team leader I need to set a good example, right?"

"I don't think that means you need to be the best in class, though."

"That would be pretty hard with you and Weiss on the team. But at least I need to give it my best effort."

"That is admirable, but you don't need to impress me, at least. Maybe it's a different story with Weiss?"

"Oh, I'm sure I'd hear it if I slacked off."

"She seems like a hard person to get along with."

"Tell me about it," Crescent said.

"Hey, guys, she's not that bad. She can be really supportive, too. She's helped me a lot."

"I guess I can aspire to nothing less than that. Is there some area of the studies that you need help with?"

"Dust Theory. That's easily my worst subject, and missing two years really shows. But I should really ask Weiss to help with that, since it's her field. I think she might be offended if I didn't."

"We don't want that. Is there something else I could help you with?"

"History, maybe?"

"If you want. I quite enjoy the subject. But I don't think you should have any problem keeping up with the classes. Quite a lot of it stands well on its own."

"Yeah, but I keep dreading that we'll hit some topic where I'll be suddenly lost because I don't know the background. And I always feel like I'm missing some pieces when Oobleck does that 'the circumstances leading to this are common knowledge' thing. Like, should I already know this stuff?"

"I don't think you are the only one in the class who feels like that. But it's true that more you know history, the more the individual events fit in a context. You don't just know what happened and where, but also why it happened and what led to it. And that's true even for things outside history."

"Oh?"

"Take Dust weaving, for example, which was mentioned in the Dust Theory class."

"Yeah, I remember. Like imbuing your clothes with Dust and things like that. It was barely even mentioned, though."

"That's because it's an antiquated practice that's rarely seen these days. And you can see the causes and effects in history. It really goes back to the Great War."

"They did that back then?"

"Well, yeah, but I mean the War, or rather its aftermath, led to the decline of the practice. They did it in the past, because Dust woven into materials gave warriors with active Auras more options in a fight, like Aegises do. Mundane equipment can really limit a Guardian's effectiveness. Ideally you'd want an Aegis, but they're really rare. So lots of people turned to Dust weaving instead."

"I guess that makes sense."

"But after the War, the Kingdoms mostly stopped maintaining large standing armies, and instead founded the Huntsman Academies to train the Huntsmen and Huntresses to protect the people from the Creatures of Grimm and other threats. There's less Guardians around, now, and most of them can have an Aegis. So the practice of Dust weaving has declined, because it's just not that useful anymore."

"Yeah, that's what I mean. It's really cool to be able to make connections like that. I can follow the classes, but it's all like events and dates and names and none of it really feels like a part of the whole, you know?"

"Yeah, I do. So, how can I help?"

"Maybe you could, I don't know, fill me in with the backstory to the stuff we learn in class? Like, tell me what I need to read for it all to make sense."

"I'm not a teacher, Ruby. I'm not sure I'd even know where to start."

"But you said you read a lot. You have a much better idea of what the picture is. Just, you know, point me to the stuff that you think would help me understand it."

"Well, I guess that might be an interesting project. I'll give it some thought and get back to you, okay?"

"Sure! Thanks, Blake."

Ruby glanced at Crescent, who was sitting composedly beside her. She was usually more animated than that, so Ruby guessed she was feeling bored. She though she had made a good start with Blake. She wasn't sure where she stood with Gambol Shroud. She had been silent the whole time, switching her attention between Ruby and Blake. Ruby doubted she'd get the shy weapon to open up tonight. Maybe this was enough team bonding for one night.

"We'll get out of your hair, so you two can get back to your book."

"You don't have to hurry on our account. I've enjoyed talking to you."

"Yeah, but I should get back to the room, make sure I'm ready for tomorrow. Good night, Blake, Gambol Shroud."

"Good night, Ruby. And you, too, Crescent Rose."

Ruby rose and turned to leave. She noticed Blake didn't waste any time in returning to her book. If she and Crescent didn't waste any time, either, they'd still have the room for themselves for a while. She grabbed Crescent's hand and hurried her steps.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Poetry in motion**

Myrtenaster sat next to Weiss in the amphitheater, where the combat classes took place. On the other side of Weiss sat Ruby, with Crescent beyond her, and the rest of the team—plus their weapons—sat in the next row behind them. All of them were focused on Professor Glynda Goodwitch at the center stage. This was the one class all the students looked forward to, and even those who might not be the most enthusiastic about school paid attention here.

"I believe we will have time for one more match." Goodwitch consulted her scroll. "Ms. Nikos, will you participate in the final sparring match of the day?"

"I'd be honored to."

There was a momentary silence as everybody in the room turned to watch Pyrrha Nikos walk towards the stage with her weapons, shortly followed by an excited buzz.

"I've been waiting for a chance to see Pyrrha in action."

"You already have, you dolt." Myrtenaster didn't like Weiss calling Ruby names, but judging by her tone she wasn't trying to be mean.

"Uh, yeah, but, you know, being able to pay attention. We were a little busy the last time."

"Let's just hope her opponent will last long enough to make it interesting." Despite her cynical words Myrtenaster could tell Weiss was excited, too. Her eyes were locked on the Mistralian warrior.

Myrtenaster had missed the announcement of Pyrrha's opponent while listening to Weiss and Ruby, but one of the members of Team CRDL, Dove Bronzewing, was walking towards the stage, holding his already transformed weapon. She didn't really have any idea of his skills, and his weapon was crude compared to her, but the team carried themselves with a swagger that suggested confidence in their abilities. Dove certainly didn't betray any nervousness at the prospect of facing the strongest fighter in the class. Pyrrha, now armed, stood waiting for him, tall and impressive.

"I want to have her body so bad," Ruby said.

Myrtenaster was startled to hear that sentence from their team leader. So was Weiss, who whipped her head towards Ruby. Crescent scowled at the side of her head. Somebody burst out laughing behind them, and it wasn't hard to recognize Yang's voice.

"What? I just said I want that body."

Yang just laughed harder as Ruby blushed, with her weapons joining in. Crescent's scowl softened into an amused smirk, suggesting she realized Ruby hadn't meant to phrase her desire quite like that.

"No, no! That wasn't what I meant. I meant I want my body to look like hers. Guys, just stop laughing..." Ruby, quite red now, pulled her hood over her head.

Myrtenaster took pity on Ruby. "She does have an admirable physique, but you still have two years to match her, and you're well on your way already."

Weiss turned to look at her in surprise. Myrtenaster supposed it was a little unusual for her to speak up like this. It also occurred to her that Weiss probably hadn't seen Ruby in any state of undress, and might not know how toned she was. Behind Weiss and Ruby she noticed that Crescent was giving her a look filled with suspicion. She didn't know how to silently communicate to her that she had nothing to worry about. Ruby wasn't who she hoped to attract.

It wasn't Pyrrha, either, as impressive as her sculpted body was. She preferred a more refined, slender build. Besides, Pyrrha already had two Aegises for company, and was unlikely to be looking for more. Myrtenaster wondered how Miló and Akoúo̱ handled sharing Pyrrha's affections. Weiss had no need for another weapon, so if her dreams ever did come true, she wouldn't have to share her Guardian. At least not with another Aegis. Her brain suddenly pictured Weiss and Ruby embracing, causing her to blush. Maybe Crescent's suspicions weren't entirely unfounded.

"The fight is starting."

Blake's calm words focused everybody's attention back on the stage. Pyrrha and Dove faced off across it, each sizing the other up. Pyrrha moved first, advancing on Dove with measured aggression. The two exchanged blows that were almost too fast for Myrtenaster to follow before springing apart. The pause lasted only a couple of seconds before the combatants clashed again.

"She could have put him in a hole right from the start if she'd gone in more aggressively," Yang said from behind Myrtenaster.

"She wanted to test him out first. It is very prudent of her," Weiss said.

"She wasted an opportunity to take a big chunk out of his Aura. Now he has her measure and she isn't getting the openings anymore."

"No, Pyrrha just isn't taking them," Ruby said. "She's faster than him, and she's letting opportunities go. Does she suspect he has some trick up his sleeve?"

Try as she might, Myrtenaster couldn't see what the Huntresses-in-training were seeing. She had been Weiss's fencing partner for three years now, and she knew she was a better fighter than most Aegises, but the combat classes were always a reminder of the gap that existed between her and Guardians. Despite the running commentary, none of them had taken their eyes off the fight for an instant.

"She wants to study him," Blake said. "If she just overpowered him, she wouldn't learn anything from his style."

"Why would she waste time studying a weaker opponent?"

"This isn't the last time she'll face him. Next time might count for more."

"I suppose that dragging it out will also let her teammates study him," Weiss said. "It might give them an advantage if they face him later, and they probably need it more than she does."

"Oh! Do you think she's holding back to keep her real abilities hidden? You know, to have an edge later?"

"Would someone like Pyrrha really resort to a trick like that?" Weiss sounded skeptical.

"She was a tournament fighter. I'm sure she knows all the tricks in the book. You don't win four times in a row by accident."

The girls watched the fight in silence as they contemplated Blake's words. Dove's Aura was being steadily whittled down, while Pyrrha's bar on the screen hardly changed. She moved with confidence and grace, her every move flowing into the next with no wasted effort, and there were no gaps in her defense Myrtenaster could see.

"He's not bad."

"No, but she's better."

"Well, obviously. She must be holding back."

"Do you think she's trying to be polite?"

"Letting an inferior fighter get an overinflated view of his prowess is not a kindness."

"Neither is toying with them. I think Ruby might be right, she's trying to give as little away as she can."

"That's a little disappointing. I really wanted to see what she can do."

"We all did."

"Hey, look on the bright side: we get to watch her a lot longer."

"Ruby, we aren't all as fond of pretty redheads as you."

"Yang! We can still appreciate her basic style, even if she's holding back."

"Well, enjoy it while it lasts. Do you think we'll get a big finish?"

"I doubt it."

Pyrrha and Dove exchanged a few last blows, Pyrrha deflecting Dove's sword with Miló and delivering a hit to his head with Akoúo̱. Dove dropped to one knee, and after one glance behind her Pyrrha backed off to let him get back up. As soon as he did, Professor Goodwitch called the match.

"Good match, both of you. Class, as you can see on the screen, Mr. Bronzewing's Aura has dropped into the red, which in a tournament-style duel would indicate he is no longer fit for battle. You will also note that Ms. Nikos refrained from attacking him after recognizing the state of affairs, and I hope you will all seek to emulate her. Keeping an eye on the Aura of both yourself and your opponent is essential in a duel."

Professor Goodwitch adjusted her glasses as the combatants left the stage.

"Before we end today's class, I have one announcement to make. Starting next week, this class will focus on combat exercises between full teams."

The announcement prompted exited chatter among the students. The sound of a riding crop slapping against a boot brought the class to silent attention again.

"For reasons which should be obvious, these exercises will not be held in this amphitheater, but rather on the grounds surrounding Beacon, either in Emerald Forest or Forever Fall. To maintain an element of uncertainty, you will not be told when you will be fighting, or against whom. I suggest you spend some time until then drilling with your team, and attend every session ready to fight."

Myrtenaster turned to observe her teammates. Ruby was looking at Weiss, eyes shining with excitement. Ruby glanced at her, too, before turning to take in the rest of her team. There wasn't even a trace of hesitation on her open face. Myrtenaster found herself smiling faintly at her eagerness. The field of battle was the one place where Ruby Rose was truly in her element.

Myrtenaster could tell Weiss was more nervous from the set of her jaw, even with her head turned away from her. It was understandable, knowing her. She had high standards, as did her family. She always experienced some apprehension when put to the test, but she invariably rose to the occasion. She always liked to be in control, too, and not knowing the day or the opposition probably made her uneasy.

A glance at the next row showed her that Yang shared her sister's excitement, while Blake was as hard to read as ever. Her fellow weapons reacted to the news with equanimity; it didn't really matter to them who or what they fought, as long as they faithfully served their Guardians.

* * *

The students started drifting out of the amphitheater, and Team RWBY joined the flow. Among the students was a girl Myrtenaster didn't recognize from their class, but who she had seen before, once or twice. The faunus girl was easy to spot by her bunny ears, but most conspicuously she was alone, unaccompanied by a team or even an Aegis. Myrtenaster guessed she might be a second year student, perhaps making use of a free period to check out the freshman class. She didn't have time to ponder the matter further before her attention was drawn back to Weiss.

"I can't believe they won't tell us who our opponents will be. How are we supposed to prepare for the fights? They might account for a big portion of our grades!"

"They are trying to prepare us for the real world, and the real world isn't always fair, princess."

"Actually, I think this might be preparation for the Vytal Festival. The fights in the tournament are randomized."

"Ooh, you think so, Blake?"

"Well, that just makes the stakes higher! I bet the teams that do well are the ones that get to represent Beacon Academy in the tournament."

"Relax, Weiss, we'll do fine. As long as we won't need to go against Pyrrha, at least."

"And what if we do? What then?"

"There's, like, three other teams it could be. There's no point in worrying about it now."

"That's just irresponsible. It could turn out to be Team JNPR. If we won't know who it is, we need a plan for every team."

"She's right, Rubes. We really do need to be prepared if we want to do well."

"You too, Yang? I thought you'd be happy to just swing it."

"I just don't want us to be caught with our pants down. Especially if there's a spot in the Vytal Festival Tournament on the line. We don't need any elaborate battle plans; no plan survives the contact with the enemy, anyway. But if the other teams knows how they want to fight us, and we don't have anything prepared, we'd be behind from the start."

"I can't believe I agree with you about something."

"It's weird for me, too, princess."

"Don't call me 'princess', you brute."

"Guys, guys, please don't fight. Okay, there's only four other teams and we have at least a week. We can figure something out."

"Actually, she didn't specify we would be facing only teams from our classes, there's the other five first-year teams, too. We could conceivably even be up against an upperclassman team."

"That would be entirely unfair! How would they expect us to defeat a team with that much more experience?"

"Perhaps they wouldn't expect us to win, but to put on a good fight."

"It was just a thought. Probably it's going to be a team from our class. We've seen most of them fight, individually. We should be able to come up with some strategies."

"We don't need to do it now, do we?"

"No time like present. We're done for the classes for today, and there's plenty of time before dinner."

"Sounds good to me."

"Oh, fine. Let's go find some seats somewhere. Follow me, Team RWBY!"

* * *

Team RWBY followed Ruby to a table in a quiet corner of the building. The four fighters took their places around the table while their weapons seated themselves on couches by the walls.

"So, which team should we start with?"

"I vote for Team JNPR. They would probably be the toughest one to face."

"You might just think that because they're the only team we've really seen in action."

"Pyrrha alone makes them the toughest."

"I bet we could take her together."

"Yeah, sure, if we get the rest of her team out of the way."

"How could we manage that?"

"You're the leader, Ruby. What would you suggest?"

"Umm, Nora would probably be the easiest to distract. I bet you could do that, Yang."

"I bet I could, too. I'd like a shot at her, to see just which one of us is stronger."

"Strength on strength? Is that the best way to engage her?"

"It might be the only way with Nora. Blake, can you handle Ren?"

"I'm pretty sure I can, but we're rather similar fighters, it could be a bit of a stalemate."

"And that would leave Ruby and me against Pyrrha and Jaune. Jaune isn't a problem, but do you think we can take Pyrrha?"

"Well, she seems to be an open-minded girl."

"Yang! That's not... what are you even... just try to keep your mind out of the gutter for a while."

Myrtenaster wasn't sure how to feel about the blush creeping up Weiss's cheeks. Seeing her flustered wasn't entirely unwelcome, she just wished she knew the precise reason for it. Weiss seemed to admire Pyrrha a great deal, and she could only hope it was just for her strength and skill.

"I have no idea where your mind went, Weiss. I was just making an observation."

"In the future, please restrict your observations to items pertinent to the topic."

"Sure thing, princess."

"I told you—"

"I think you should ta—face Pyrrha, Weiss." Ruby's cheeks were red too, not for the first time today. "Do you think you could hold your own against her for a while?"

"I... you want me to face her on my own?"

"Until I can take care of Jaune. Do you think you can manage that?"

"Maybe... no, I'm sure I can hold my own... at least a little while."

"We just need to take care of the other ones, then we can gang up on Pyrrha. Four on one, she won't have a chance."

"Okay, it sounds like we have a plan! Let's move on to the next team."

"No, Yang, that isn't a plan. That's just wishful thinking. What if team JNPR doesn't face us one on one, and what if we can't win all the duels before Pyrrha takes Weiss out of the fight?"

"I can take care of myself. What if Ren defeats you? Or Nora catches you off guard?"

"That's my point. This is a team fight. They aren't just going to go along with our plan."

"Well, do you have a better plan, or do you just like criticizing my sister?"

"I'm not criticizing her, I just think we should think about this some more rather than rely on the first idea that pops to mind."

"You could have tried to put it in more constructive terms, then."

"No, Yang, she's right. We can't just assume they'll do what we want them to do. We should try to figure out what they'd want to do if they end up facing us. Let's see..."

Ruby bit her lip as her brows wrinkled in concentration. Myrtenaster was sure she wasn't the only one in the group who found it cute.

"Team JNPR is a pretty balanced team. They can defend, they have good offense up close and at range, Nora's a hard hitter, and Pyrrha can probably cover a lot of weaknesses."

"Like Jaune."

"Be nice, Weiss. We do well at range, and I think we have them beat in mobility. I think they'll want to fight us up close."

"Makes sense. I mean, I'm a brawler, but you guys aren't really suited to a stand-up fight."

"We can hold our own!"

"I still think it's more to their advantage than ours, Weiss."

"Could they force us to fight like that? Between Ruby's speed, my Glyphs and Blake's clones, we should be able to stay away and engage from range if we wanted to."

"We'd have to maneuver under fire. Apart from Ruby, none of us can attack them from outside their range."

"Yeah, and it'd be hard to hit them firing on the move. Nora has grenades and Pyrrha can use her shield for protection and to steady her aim. It would be a gamble. Either we stay far enough so it's just me taking potshots at them, or we need to move in."

"Would it be all the bad? I mean, yes, that's probably the fight that they would want, but we can fight at close range, too. Besides, your original proposal involved close engagements."

"The problem is taking them team to team. Team JNPR will probably want to stick close together, so they can support weaker members."

"Jaune."

"Jaune is... not the strongest fighter, but he has a pretty good eye for the battlefield. As long as they're together, he can direct the others. That's probably the best contribution he can make."

"So we should try to separate them."

"Blake, that's what Ruby suggested in the first place. Can you make up your mind?"

"I didn't say it was a bad idea. I just said we should be prepared for things not going our way. I actually agree with Ruby. I think we should try to separate them, and our best bet is probably you getting under Nora's skin so she rushes after you."

"And I said that's not a problem. Ren will almost certainly support her."

"I can take Ren. But like I said, it might take a while. It might go faster if you engaged him."

"If we can separate them from the others, we can try to switch partners."

"Sounds good, partner."

"Jaune will try to keep the team together, so me and Weiss need to put pressure on him and Pyrrha. That's not going to be easy. I mean, Jaune's not a problem, but..." Ruby turned to look at Weiss.

"This plan kinda hinges on Yang baiting Nora, and you being able to occupy Pyrrha long enough so we can back you up. Do you think you can do that?"

"I already said I can. I'm just..." Weiss looked into Ruby's eyes. "Why did you want me to do it? Not that I don't want to, I'm just a little surprised."

"I think you're best suited to it. You and Pyrrha both have such, I don't know, graceful, refined fighting styles. Good form, that's what I mean. I like watching you both."

"You're making Crescent jealous, Ruby."

"Fight, watching you fight." Ruby was resolutely not looking at her sister, but her cheeks were getting rosier. "And your Glyphs make you the one best suited for defense. You don't need to win by yourself, you just need to tie her up for a while."

"Kinky."

"Yang!"

"Right, let's say we have a provisional plan for Team JNPR. Who's next?"

"How about CRDL?"

"With Dove today, I think we've seen all of them fight. Sounds good to me."

Myrtenaster thought the plan still had some holes in it, but suspected they wanted to move on to maintain order. She glanced at her fellow weapons, sitting to the side from the four Huntresses-in-training. Ember was nodding off, or more likely pretending to as they had only been here for a few minutes, leaning her head on her sister's shoulder. Gambol Shroud and Crescent Rose did their best to maintain an attitude of respectful attention, as became an Aegis, though the latter was visibly a little bored.

Myrtenaster leaned towards Crescent. "It looks like this might take a while. Do you want to help me get them some coffee?"

At a nod from her, Myrtenaster got up and led them away. Before she turned a corner, she took one last look at the girls around the table. Weiss caught her eyes for a moment and gave her the slightest of smiles. It warmed her the entire way to the cafeteria.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Royal Test**

"I can't take it anymore, Weiss. Can't we take a little break?"

Weiss's eye twitched at the childish whine in Ruby's voice. "Ruby, we've only been at it for an hour."

"Well, it feels like it's been longer."

Crescent piped up from behind them. "It feels like it's been forever."

"Don't encourage her! Honestly. Ruby, you asked for my help."

"And I'm really grateful for it and I'm not saying I want to stop, I just can't take in any more right now and my brain needs a break. Please, Weiss."

"It's not that..." Weiss paused. Actually, Dust Theory could be pretty involved, and Ruby lacked the foundation she had. Weiss didn't know what the quality of teaching was in Vale's combat schools, but she was sure it was far short of her tutors, and it certainly didn't help that Ruby had skipped two grades. "Fine, we can take a little break."

"Yay!"

"But we will finish this chapter today. I have my own studies to worry about, too."

"I know, Weiss. I'm really super thankful that you agreed to help me catch up."

"I did promise to be the best teammate you could have, didn't I?" Weiss was also pleased that Ruby appeared to take her studies seriously enough to put in the extra time to catch up. That was behavior that ought to be encouraged. "It's only seemly to help your teammates when they are struggling."

"I wouldn't say I'm struggling, exactly..." Ruby poked the tips of her index fingers together.

"You're... coming along nicely." Weiss couldn't quite bring herself to offer higher praise than that. It was one thing to try to be encouraging, and another one entirely to offer false accolades.

"Did you hear that, Cress?" Ruby collapsed next to her weapon on their shared bed. "I got a compliment from Weiss."

"I think she likes you."

"I do not like her!"

"You don't?" Ruby sat back up, her silver eyes large and watery. She looked like a hurt puppy.

"I, uh, I... I don't _dislike_ you. I just don't like you like _that_."

"Like what?" Crescent did a passable impression of Ruby's innocently questioning look, but Weiss wasn't fooled for a second.

"I don't like her in the way you do."

"Nobody said you did."

"That is what you implied!"

"You're reading to much into it, princess."

"Don't call me 'princess'. Ruby, instruct your Aegis in the proper mode of address for your partner."

Ruby tried to look stern as she turned towards her weapon. "It's heiress, Cress. Heiress." Crescent broke out in giggles.

"You are both insufferable. Is this the thanks I get for trying to help you?"

"Well, you aren't getting a kiss."

"I don't want a kiss!" Weiss threw her hands up and whirled around. "Unbelievable."

Weiss stormed back to her side of the room, although it was difficult to get a good storm going with just three strides. She threw Myrtenaster a look, communicating her displeasure at her lack of support, before seating herself at her desk and pulling out her remaining homework. Just because Ruby decided to goof off didn't mean she had to. She didn't get a chance to get started on it, however.

"Hey, Weiss?"

"Yes, Ruby?"

"Do you want to train in the gym with me?"

"I don't think we'll have time for that tonight."

"I meant in general."

"Well, we are partners. It sounds agreeable."

"Great! We should probably find some time to spar before the team fights, too, to make sure we are on the same page."

"We already worked out our initial battle plans."

"Yeah, but I just want to make sure we work well together. So that, uh, nobody attacks out of turn."

"That would be an improvement. Yes, that sounds good."

Weiss picked up a pen and almost got a sentence written before she was interrupted again.

"Weiss?"

"Yes, Ruby?"

"Are you mad at me?"

"No. I am not mad at you."

"You know we were just joking around, right?"

Well, she did now. "I already told you I'm not mad."

"It's just that you kinda sound just a teensy weensy angry."

Weiss put down the pen, took a deep breath, and turned around to face Ruby. "I am not. I just thought I could make some progress on my own homework while you take your break."

"I sorta hoped that we could take a break. You know, both of us."

"I don't need a break yet." Weiss was a little annoyed that Ruby seemed to believe she shared her academic weaknesses.

"It'd be more fun to do something together."

It suddenly occurred to Weiss that perhaps Ruby didn't assume she had also exhausted her ability to focus on studying, but rather simply wanted to spend time with her doing something else. It was a friendly overture, and it would be churlish to reject it out of hand.

"What did you have in mind?"

"We could watch a movie, maybe?"

"Ruby, we aren't going to take a two-hour break after studying for one."

"We don't have to watch it all in one go..."

"No. Think of something else."

"Mi—Weiss," Myrtenaster said from behind her. "Remember that we ought to do some laundry today. I can of course take care of it by myself while you study."

"No, you don't have to do that." Weiss was struck by an idea. "That's it! Ruby, we will go wash some laundry."

"I thought we were going to take a break."

"We are. A laundry break."

"That's not a break."

"It is a break from studying. It'll help you take your mind off Dust Theory for a while, and we won't be wasting time while you do. It's perfect."

"No it's not."

Weiss got up and faced Ruby with hands on her hips. "Ruby, if you want my help with your studies, you will accompany me to the laundry room right now." She turned to look at her weapon, who had got up to get ready to go. "Myrtenaster, you can stay here. I'm sure the two of us will manage just fine."

* * *

"Why didn't you have Myrtenaster come with you? Isn't she usually the one who does your laundry?"

"I though you didn't like it when I treat her like a servant." Weiss was not going to explain that she was a little ashamed about being relatively helpless with everyday chores. She was supposed to be an independent and mature young woman who could take care of herself. "Why don't you have Crescent with you? You two are usually inseparable."

"I always take care of her laundry. I always take care of her. She's my responsibility."

"That doesn't mean you have to spoil her."

Ruby smiled. "I know I don't _have_ to spoil her. I just want to. She's my weapon, she's everything to me."

"Are you really... are you really in love with your weapon?"

"Yep. How could I not? She's such a sweetheart."

"Doesn't it bother you that she's also a girl?"

"Nope. We're joined at the soul, Weiss. How could anyone ever be closer to me?"

"You do realize that's not the normal relationship between a Guardian and their weapon, right?"

Ruby smirked. "Well, judging by the stories my uncle Qrow tells us, it's not all that uncommon, either."

Weiss wondered if such stories might not be a little embellished. "Does your... is your uncle also... _close_ to his weapon?"

Ruby emitted an amused noise that was just a little too high and girly to be described as a bark. She glanced at Weiss with her eyes shining and opened her mouth, only to descent into a fit of giggles, dropping her laundry basket in the process. Weiss was left wondering what about her question was that funny. Eventually Ruby calmed down enough to draw a deep breath and wipe her eyes.

"Sorry. No, my uncle is definitely not involved with his weapon. I'm not sure what Morrigan would do to him if he tried something, but I'm sure I'm too young to witness it." Ruby let out a few more chuckles. "Not that he'd be interested. He's told me she reminds him of his sister."

"Would that be your mother?"

"Yang's mother. Dad married my mother after she left."

Mirth left Ruby as suddenly as it had seized her. This was clearly a touchy subject. Weiss could relate; mothers were complicated. It wasn't really any of her business, anyway. She wasn't quite sure how to navigate the discussion from here, so she just stayed quiet as Ruby bent to pick up her basket again.

"But, anyway, I know not all Aegises and Guardians have what we have." Ruby seemed determined to drop the detour, and Weiss saw no reason to deny her. "I mean, Yang sees Em and Cel almost as sisters, and my uncle can barely stand his weapon sometimes, and it's mutual. I know it can go different ways. I just can't see how anything could be more romantic than soul-bound lovers."

Weiss nervously shifted her grip on her laundry basket. "You are, uh, lovers, then?"

"Did that somehow escape your notice?"

"No, I mean, you are... physically..." Weiss was too embarrassed to get the entire question out. She could feel the blush spreading on her cheeks. From the corner of her eye she could see Ruby blushing, too.

"I need to take care of my weapon's needs, don't I?"

"I'm pretty sure that's not actually an established requirement for a wielder of an Aegis."

"Have you ever thought about..."

"Absolutely not!" At least, she had not considered doing something like that herself. She might have wondered what it would be like, strictly hypothetically. "Don't you think you are a little young for that?"

"Maybe... but she's the only one I will ever love and we will be together for all our lives, so I don't think there's any harm in... showing that love." Ruby was quite remarkably red by this point.

The subject was dropped by mutual silent agreement, which gave both their faces an opportunity to cool down. They reached the wash room in the basement of the dorm building, and Ruby wasted little time in claiming a washing machine not in use. Weiss fidgeted behind her.

"Uh, Ruby?"

"Yes, Weiss?"

"Could you, um, maybe show me how use the machine?"

Ruby paused in her task and turned around to look at Weiss, her eyes wide.

"You don't know how to use a washing machine?"

"I do know how to use it!" Weiss played with her fingers as she avoided Ruby's eyes, her cheeks turning pink again. "I just... could maybe use just a tiny little refresher?"

Ruby started giggling, which normally would have annoyed Weiss, but for the moment she was too busy being embarrassed.

"You want me to teach you how to wash clothes."

"It seems like a fair trade for teaching you Dust Theory, don't you think?"

"Didn't you go with Myrtenaster the last two times?"

"Yes. She showed me how it works, but... I may have forgotten some details." And there was no way she was ever going to admit it to Myrtenaster. It was embarrassing enough to have to ask Ruby, but it would be more embarrassing to have to explain to Myrtenaster how she ruined their clothes.

"Did you honestly never wash clothes at home?"

"No. We had staff for that."

"Wow. I can't really even imagine that. You really are a princess."

"I'm not a princess! But I suppose my family is... more comfortably off than some others."

"I'll say. But, you know, it's kinda nice to know there's something you can't do. You seem so good at everything."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No, I think it's awesome, but it's also a little intimidating. You not knowing how to wash clothes," Ruby said, her lips quirking in a smile, "makes you a little more... human."

Weiss remembered her words to Ruby during the initiation. _"I'm not perfect... not yet. But I'm still leagues better than you."_ She had believed that too, at the time. It seemed less credible when Ruby could lead a team to defeat a giant Nevermore and she couldn't even wash her own clothes without help. Weiss believed her time with her tutors had left her with skills very few people her age could match, skills quite out of reach of commoners like the staff. But perhaps her upbringing had had some gaps in it, and left her bereft of some more mundane skills that she would have been better off possessing.

"Well, are you just going to keep smirking at me, or are you actually going to help me?"

She was not perfect yet, and she might never become so, but at least she was not going to stand in her own way. There was no test she couldn't overcome if she put her mind to it.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: I Was a Child And She Was a Child**

"So, Myrtenaster, don't you think it's high time we two got to know each other better?"

Myrtenaster looked up from the book she was reading to see Crescent Rose sit down across from her. The combination of the words and her proximity made Myrtenaster blush, although Crescent probably hadn't intended the words flirtatiously.

"That is Miss Weiss's bed. Please don't sit on it without permission." Myrtenaster was sitting on her bed because she was reluctant to move the homework Weiss had left on her table, and she certainly wasn't going to use the table on Ruby's side of the room without leave.

"And that makes it her sovereign territory, I guess." Crescent huffed in annoyance, but got up, anyway. "Fine, if it makes you feel more comfortable." She took a step and sat down next to Myrtenaster on her bed. It didn't make Myrtenaster that much more comfortable.

"You could have asked, first."

"I'm not really used to it. Ruby's family isn't as stuck up as you two."

"I'm not stuck up." Myrtenaster decided that stating she had manners would imply she thought Crescent didn't, which sounded ill-bred enough to contradict the claim. "Living in such close proximity makes it even more important to respect each other's personal space."

"Sharing a room means making allowances."

"True. Shouldn't you make allowances for my preferences, too?"

"I guess you do have a point." A mischievous smile lurked at Crescent's lips. "I notice you didn't protest against Weiss being stuck up. I thought you would rush to protect your lady's honor."

"Miss Weiss is an heiress to a very prominent family, and she has been brought up to maintain very particular standards of conduct and decorum."

"In other words, she's stuck up."

"She may appear rather stiff and formal, especially to someone not familiar with the society she comes from."

"You know, I don't think you're really contradicting me, even if you try to put the best possible face on it." Crescent still seemed amused. "Not that I can fault you for trying; she is your Guardian, after all. If you tried criticizing Ruby, I would fight you."

"I'm not interested in fighting you."

"Good. I've seen you fence. You'd probably kick my ass."

"With a blade, anyway. I'm not much of a brawler."

"Neither am I. I'm quite happy to leave that stuff to Ruby. I just need to look good and be deadly."

"You are. You might be the most dangerous weapon I've ever met. How did you two even think to make you into a sniper scythe?" Crescent looked at Myrtenaster with her head tilted. "You don't need to answer if you don't want to. I don't mean to be impertinent."

"Hey, I'm the one who said we should get to know each other. I was just thinking how to answer. Have we never mentioned Ruby's uncle?"

"Not to me, at least."

"Oh. Well, he's a teacher at Signal Academy, the primary combat school we both went to. Ruby pretty much idolizes him, and I suppose he's kinda cool. I just wish he wasn't drunk so often. It makes me nervous to be around him."

"I can imagine." She could relate, even, but Crescent didn't need to know that.

"Anyway, he does know his stuff as an instructor, and his Aegis is Morrigan, who is a scythe. Well, a shotgun-sword-scythe."

"That's... unusual."

"Is it? Hand-to-hand and ranged form are a pretty usual combination."

"True; but two close combat forms, and one as clumsy as a scythe?"

"Are you calling me clumsy?" Crescent asked in mock indignation.

"You know what I mean. A sword is much handier in a fight." A rapier, of course, was especially so.

"Against another Guardian, I guess. Qrow's idea was that a Huntsman needs a weapon that can deliver heavy blows to even large Creatures of Grimm. The sword mode is for fighting other people. The scythe is for monster killing."

Myrtenaster considered this. "Yes, I think I see what you mean. Ruby—Miss Rose used you to decapitate an ancient Nevermore. I don't think any of the rest of us could have inflicted a mortal wound on a creature that big and tough."

"Yeah, exactly. I mean, I'm sure you are much more suited for a duel with another Guardian, but that's not what I'm for. Ruby has always wanted to be a Huntress, and she designed me to kill Grimm. Scythe or rifle, I can take down Beowolves and even Ursai in one hit."

"So you are pretty specialized, then." Myrtenaster offered her a little smile. "You're lucky you have me and Weiss to watch your back, in case we run into some trained fighters."

"Hey, Ruby kicking some bad guys' butts with Goodwitch is what got us here."

"I remember." The story had sounded a little dubious to Myrtenaster, but the fact was that Ruby and Crescent were here, two years ahead of schedule. "I must say, you are unusually intricate for one so young. I mean, you are fifteen, right?"

"Yeah, but Ruby and me worked really hard to shape me." Crescent blushed. "Ruby spent months poring over schematics and making prototypes to help me visualize all the working parts. Qrow offered some feedback, of course, and talking with Morrigan was a big help for me." Crescent's eyes lit up. "Morrigan is so, so cool. She's tall and beautiful and has this confident air about her; you would think she's a Huntress rather than an Aegis."

"You sound like you admire her a lot. Is that what you want to be?"

"I wouldn't mind being tall and beautiful, but I don't want to be anything other than Ruby's Aegis."

"With our Guardians is where we belong." Myrtenaster looked at the door. "I should be helping Weiss with the laundry."

"Oh, please, you aren't a servant. Is it so bad to be treated once in a while?"

"But I am, though. I was hired to be Weiss's maid and weapon."

"Figures. Wait, you were hired? You didn't choose each other?"

"I applied for the position and Weiss had to approve of me, so it's not like we didn't have any say in it." Well, her parents had applied for her; not that she'd been unwilling.

"Is that how it's done in Atlas? Or is it like that just for rich princesses?"

"I think that's a privilege for the rich. If I hadn't been chosen, I'd probably have ended up in Atlas Academy. All the Aegises are expected to join."

"Yeah, it's similar here. When my Aura unlocked and it became obvious I was an Aegis, it was suggested pretty strongly that I should transfer to a combat school. I would have in any case, obviously. That's the best way to find a Guardian, after all."

"There's so few Aegises compared to Guardians I'm sure you'd have found one, anyway. In Atlas Academy, Aegises are only assigned to the top ranked students."

"They don't get any say in it?"

"I'm not sure just how it works, as I never ended up getting there. Did you get to choose?"

"Yeah, we don't do that military thing here. I could have chosen anybody in the school. Because, as you say, there were more Guardians there than there were us."

"But not all of them manage to make it to a Huntsman academy. Are you really allowed to Join with someone who's not at the top of the class?"

"Yeah. If you want to. I mean, obviously the people at the top got more attention from us. You'd rather have someone cool, right?"

"So Ruby must have been pretty cool?"

"She wasn't really all that good when we met, and she was more adorkable than cool, but there was something about her that got my attention. She was really honest and really passionate about wanting to help people." Crescent paused with a little smile. "Well, once I got to know her. She was really shy around people she didn't know."

"It doesn't really sound like you two had much in common."

"Well, we were both redheads. It made sense to Yang, at least. She kinda introduced us." Crescent smiled in remembrance. "Ruby hid behind her when Yang dragged her to talk to me. It was cute."

"I can see Yang taking it on herself to break the ice, but I thought the red on Ruby's hair was just dye."

"Oh, she dyes her hair, but her real color is red, a little lighter than mine." Crescent had another fond smile. "She had short twin tails when she was younger. She was just too adorable."

"Is that the real reason you talked to her?"

"I prefer her as a badass. A really cute badass. Anyway, once she opened up, she loved to talk about all the ideas she had for weapons. I think that's what got me so interested. I wanted to find out what we could do together." Crescent blushed. "About form development, I mean, not anything dirty. We were like thirteen at the time."

"I didn't say anything. And you really did achieve something extraordinary. There are veteran Huntsmen with weapons less intricate than you."

"I've been told that a lot, and I've wondered about it. I think it's because most pairs just settle on a form and once they've achieved it, they stop. We never stopped. Ruby always has new ideas she wants me to try. We haven't really had time for that since we got here, but we used to work on my form pretty much daily."

"Why do you always blush when you talk about it?"

"Ah... well, it's..."

"You don't have to explain if you don't have to." Myrtenaster wished she would, though, as now she was intrigued. She had never found working on her transformation to be particularly embarrassing.

"Oh, alright; we're all girls here, right? It's just that, like I said, Ruby took the subject really seriously. We kind of got it in our heads that to get the best results we needed to be really familiar with the shape of my body. So, whenever we worked on my transformation together, I was... I was usually naked."

"Oh. That's..."

"It wasn't anything sexual! At first, anyway. We were just exploring my body... okay, that sounds a little sexual, but it really was to help me visualize the transformation better."

"Yes, I did some visualization exercises myself, with meditation and like. Not usually in the nude, though, and definitely not with someone else." Myrtenaster was pretty sure she was blushing, too. She wondered how she would have reacted if Weiss had quite innocently asked to study her naked body. It was a thought best left to be explored when she was alone.

"Of course, as we got older, we started to discover that my body had other intriguing uses besides turning into a weapon... and I persuaded Ruby that I'd be less self-conscious if she was naked, too... can we talk about something else now?"

"Um. Yes."

"I can't believe I told you that."

Although Crescent's cheeks almost matched her hair, Myrtenaster suspected she actually had really wanted to share that story with someone. "If I'm perfectly honest, I'm a little jealous of you."

"I've been meaning to talk about that." Crescent suddenly sounded quite serious. "Are you jealous because of my relationship with my Guardian?" Crescent turned to look her in the eye. "Or are you jealous about Ruby specifically?"

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"Oh, come on. I've seen you check her out."

Myrtenaster averted her eyes. "Ruby is a... very attractive young woman, but I'm not planning on trying to steal her away from you. There's no harm in looking, is there?"

"I don't know. I don't like the way Ruby looks at other girls."

"She just appreciates female beauty, that's all. You know she's devoted to you. "

"I wish I was that sure. I mean, I don't need to look at anyone else when I have her."

"I don't think I'd have eyes for others, either, if I had what you have. You should treasure what you have, and trust Ruby."

"Do you want to be with Weiss?"

"I..." Myrtenaster found herself blushing again. "I wouldn't mind it."

"I really don't know what you see in her, but she is your Guardian. If I can help you in any way, I will."

"Please don't say anything to her!"

"Hey, I'm not some meddling fool from a romantic comedy. But unless you let her know how you feel, you'll never get anywhere."

"I couldn't; it's not my place to—"

"Isn't it the whole point to change your place? If an Aegis isn't allowed to harbor feelings for their Guardian, then who is?"

"She probably doesn't feel the same way. She's really uncomfortable with you and Ruby, both for being a Guardian and an Aegis, and for both being girls. That's two strikes against me."

"Maybe she just needs some time to get used to the idea. She's been a little more civil towards us lately. Well, Ruby, anyway."

"Why are you so anxious to help me, anyway? You don't even like Weiss."

"But you do. I fully support you as your sister Aegis. Besides, the sooner Weiss is off the market the better. I don't like the way Ruby looks at her, either." Crescent glanced at the door. "They've been gone a while, haven't they?"

"Crescent, they aren't making out in the laundry room." They almost certainly were not making out in the laundry room, though Myrtenaster found the scenario not entirely unappealing.

"No, no, of course not. Ruby wouldn't do that to me. I wasn't worried about something like that."

"If you say so."

"I do." Crescent turned to study Myrtenaster. "You know, it's nice to know you can let your hair down every once in a while. I told you we don't need to be too formal."

"No, I guess we don't."

"Hmm, we haven't really talked about you, apart from your unrequited crush on Weiss."

"It's fine."

"No, no, I want to learn about you. How did you get your form? You are a pretty elegant weapon yourself."

"I'd better be. I was designed by one of the finest weaponsmiths in Atlas."

"Ooh, fancy. We don't do things like that here."

"Mr. Schnee was of the opinion that if her daughter absolutely had to have a weapon, only the finest in the realm would do. Some people from his company designed the prototypes for me."

"I thought Schnee Dust Company was a Dust company. Like it says in the name."

"SDC has diversified a lot in the past couple of decades. They have a weapons branch, among others."

"Must be nice."

"In this instance it let them design my form in-house."

"It sound kinda cold and clinical, to be just handed a target form rather than work it out with your Guardian."

"I've always appreciated having expert guidance. Not all Guardians are as skilled at that as Ruby. But I wouldn't have minded spending more time with Weiss when I worked at my form."

"Wow, did you have a thing for her from the start?"

Myrtenaster blushed. "I was just a poor girl who got lucky. Weiss was... she was amazing. She was beautiful and brilliant and refined. I was in awe of her. And I got to be her Aegis."

"We definitely need to get you hooked up. A fairy tale like that deserves a fairy tale ending."

"Fairy tales don't always end that happily."

"No, I guess not. But yours will. Weiss will realize what you mean to her, and you will be happy together forever."

"I hope so."

It was what she had dreamed of for years now, and while she had never given up on that dream, it had started to seem so far away when months and years went by without any indication of Weiss returning her feelings. Talking about it with Crescent Rose, who had achieved that dream for herself, made it feel like it might be within her reach, after all. Since coming to Beacon Academy, she had felt closer to Weiss. Maybe it was because she was the only thing around that reminded Weiss of home, or it might be a byproduct of Weiss's attempt to reinvent herself in this new environment, but it gave her a chance, all the same. She would not let it slip away.

But whether her dream came true or not, her devotion to Weiss was eternal. Their very souls were Joined, and that was a bond that could never be dissevered.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: One must fall**

Ruby slowly moved her view up Pyrrha's long, armored legs, past the provocatively short red skirt, up her corset-covered torso, and centered Crescent Rose's sights right on her exposed cleavage. "I'm so going to hit that."

"Ruby?" Weiss's voice was higher than normal, and a little louder than was appropriate for the circumstances.

Ruby spared half a glance at her partner sitting next to her on the tree branch. "I can totally hit her from here."

"Shouldn't you be aiming at Jaune instead?"

"Oh, come on, Weiss, Pyrrha is a much more valuable target. This is the best chance we'll get to take a big bite out of her Aura."

"Our plan is to get rid of Jaune first, and tie up Pyrrha until we can all gang up on her."

"Yeah, about that... do you want Jaune?"

"Are you seriously going to tell me you want to change the plan now?"

"It's just that me and Jaune kinda had a bonding moment and I'm not sure I could bring myself to savage him. You don't have a problem with that, do you?"

"After the way he has kept pestering me, it would be a pleasure to smack him around. But can you hold your own against Pyrrha?"

"I think so. I should be able to keep out of her reach, at least." Ruby took her eye off the sight for a second and looked around. "Have you seen any Grimm?"

"Wouldn't they have cleared the area for the matches?"

"You really think so?"

Weiss sighed. "No, of course they wouldn't. No, I haven't seen any."

"Let's hope we won't." Ruby settled the sights on Pyrrha again. Team JNPR was cautiously moving through the forest, roughly in their direction.

"Are you really going to take a shot at Pyrrha?"

"If I'm going to square off against the Invincible Girl, might as well start out ahead, right? Are the others in position?"

"How am I supposed to know that? I can't see through all that foliage." Weiss consulted her scroll. "Wait for it... wait..."

"Just tell me when Blake gives the signal, and get ready to go."

"They're in position."

Ruby rested Crescent Rose against the tree trunk, steadied her aim, held her breath, and pulled the trigger. Crescent kicked against her shoulder as the Dust ignited and sent the supersonic projectile on its way. Ruby's Aura-enhanced senses allowed her to just barely follow the heavy bullet as it streaked towards its target.

Impossibly, Pyrrha reacted while the bullet was still in flight. Ruby watched in disbelief as Pyrrha brought up her shield while beginning to bend backwards. She had time to move just enough that the bullet touched the rim of her shield and ricocheted over the intended target. Ruby didn't think even Pyrrha could have pulled that off if her shot hadn't inexplicably gone a little high.

As the sound of the report reached Team JNPR, Nora and Ren turned their heads in her general direction. Pyrrha's eyes sought for the origin of the attack, and Ruby saw her green eyes lock on her through the sights. She fired again, though she knew Pyrrha would easily block the shot this time.

"Well, I messed up that one," Ruby said as Crescent transformed to her full scythe form. "Let's go."

Ruby fired backwards as she dashed towards Pyrrha with application of her Semblance. She had to evade fire from Miló in his rifle form on the way, which prevented her from building up as much momentum as she'd counted on. Her dash ended in front of Pyrrha, and she brought Crescent down in an overhead swing. Pyrrha easily deflected the attack with Akoúo̱, and then Ruby had to scramble to avoid a thrust from Miló. Before she could even regain her balance, Pyrrha struck again, and Ruby realized she might have bitten off more than she could chew.

Unfortunately her sudden departure had left Weiss behind, and for a moment Ruby was facing the entire Team JNPR on her own. Fortunately the other three weren't interfering, possibly recognizing Pyrrha didn't need any help. Unfortunately, that was an accurate judgment. Fortunately Jaune and Nora were looking her way, so at least she was functioning as a distraction. Unfortunately Lie Ren was on his guard, searching for the rest of her team. Fortunately Blake's skill and the dense undergrowth had let them sneak close enough that all Ren gained from his vigil was a Dust-powered kiss from Ember.

"Ren!"

"What? Where did they come from? Ambush, it's an ambush."

"Pow! Right in the kisser. It looks like lover boy won't be smooching anyone for a while."

"I'll get you for that, Yang. Nobody treats my Rennie-poo like that." There was a thundering crash. "Stay still so I can break your legs!"

"You're just too slow."

"Oh, now you've done it."

"Catch me if you can, slowpoke."

"You are going down, Xiao Long!"

"Nora! Don't run off on your own! We talked about thi—unfh."

"I'm your opponent, Jaune. Just worry about yourself."

Her teammates arrived not a moment too soon. Ruby was hard pressed just to cope with Pyrrha. If any of the others had taken advantage of the situation, she could be down for the count already. As it was, she couldn't afford to take her eyes off Pyrrha. Yang and Nora's voices were receding, so at least that part of the plan was working as intended. Now she just needed to hang on until Weiss finished Jaune off. She hadn't heard Blake's voice, or a report from Gambol Shroud, but she was probably looking for her opening.

"Ren, will you—augh!"

"I'll look after her."

"You can't hide behind that shield forever."

"She's right, Jaune. Take advantage of any openings she gives you. This is not the time for any misplaced chivalry."

Ruby felt distinctly offended. Did Pyrrha seriously have time to coach Jaune while fighting her? She executed a minute dash to build up momentum for a powerful swing, only to find she had to abort the attack as Pyrrha's quick counter forced her to scramble trying to deflect it. Had she landed a single hit yet? Pyrrha truly earned the epithet Invincible Girl; there were no gaps in her defense. Ruby wished she could say the same about hers. Despite her best efforts her Aura was already being steadily depleted, either by glancing hits, or the effort required to avoid direct ones.

"I'm not just being considerate! I just can't find any openi—gah!"

"Won't you just fall already?"

"Weiss! Stop playing with him alrea—aaah!"

Pyrrha had found a hole in Ruby's guard and delivered a thrust with Miló that would have skewered her had her Aura not held. Ruby scrambled back to put some distance between them, and took the opportunity to shift Crescent into gun form to direct some fire on Pyrrha. Pyrrha, of course, returned fire with Miló. Akoúo̱ danced in Pyrrha's hands with incredible precision, blocking all of her shots that Pyrrha didn't just nimbly evade; it almost seemed like Ruby's rounds were drawn towards the shield. Ruby was fast enough to avoid the return fire, but she had to concede that at this range the exchange probably favored Pyrrha.

Had this been a duel, Ruby would have used her Semblance to put some serious distance between them and tried to ambush her again. As things stood, she couldn't leave Weiss alone to face both Pyrrha and Jaune. Not being closely engaged with Pyrrha she could see Weiss creating an array of Glyphs from the corner of her eye. She recognized the tactic; she was looking to set up a flank attack by maneuvering faster than Jaune could react to. The attack should put Jaune out of the fight. She just needed to hold on a little longer. She dashed forwards as Crescent Rose unfolded back into a scythe.

She managed to take Pyrrha by surprise. She was still holding Akoúo̱ to block shots, and Miló was still in rifle form. She could probably still block a strike from the front, but Crescent's shape afforded Ruby a range of possible attacks. She swung the heavy scythe in a large horizontal arc to go around Pyrrha's guard to strike her back. She needed to step close to Pyrrha, but that also put her in a position she couldn't be fired on. Since Miló wasn't in his sword form, Pyrrha shouldn't be able to take advantage of her being open.

Like she had been expecting the move, Pyrrha jumped up and back in a high graceful arc, easily avoiding her attack. It also put enough space between them to bring Miló to bear on her; Ruby realized Pyrrha had left Miló in his rifle form for this maneuver, rather than out of error. Ruby was standing almost still, her momentum halted by the need to pull Crescent back to execute her attempted attack. She was a sitting duck. Ruby almost closed her eyes as she expected a Dust round right in her face.

She was given a reprieve when Pyrrha twisted sideways in the air, and aimed to her side. The report was followed by a yelp from Weiss.

"Ruby! You are supposed to keep her occupied."

"I'm trying, okay? Just hurry up and deal with Jaune already."

Ruby rushed Pyrrha again to take advantage of her predictable trajectory. High jumps were certainly spectacular, but not necessarily practical, as they left the fighter relatively helpless. Ruby's swing missed, anyway, as Pyrrha's fall somehow slowed for a split second at a crucial moment. Luckily she didn't have momentum for an effective return strike. From the corner of her eye Ruby spied a light show as Weiss unleashed a barrage of Dust attacks on Jaune. How was he still standing?

Pyrrha noticed the spectacle as well, and flung Akoúo̱ in that direction as she landed, presumably at Weiss. Ruby didn't take her eyes off her target even for a second, and capitalized on the opportunity. With Pyrrha distracted and without her shield, she looked to land a solid hit on her.

Pyrrha had other ideas. She continued the motion of throwing her shield into a spinning kick. Ruby was for once happy about her short stature as she ducked under the kick and swept her scythe at Pyrrha's supporting leg. Pyrrha spun around in the air, and suddenly the leg was in the air and kicking down at her. Ruby avoided it with a move that would have done her credit in a limbo contest and followed it into an improbable backflip.

Pyrrha wasn't going to give her any time to recover. She rushed towards her, bending to pick up Akoúo on the way. How had she ended up in that position? Ruby was sure Jaune couldn't have thrown her back. Could Pyrrha really have judged a ricochet from Weiss so exactly, or did she have some way of controlling the shield from a distance? She hadn't shown that ability in her fight against Dove Bronzewing.

Ruby was starting to find the fight quite unfair. She couldn't land a hit on Pyrrha and she couldn't even stop her from supporting Jaune when needed, which made Weiss's task much harder than it needed to be. She was beginning to suspect that she and Weiss put together weren't a match for the Mistralian tournament champion. Ruby could only hope that Yang and Blake managed to win against their half of Team JNPR and returned to support them while she was still standing.

Ruby put a little distance between herself and Pyrrha, and sneaked a look at her Aura gauge. This wasn't a life or death struggle, and there was no call to make it one by being careless about Aura levels. Nevertheless, she was determined to give as good an accounting for herself as she could. She was the leader of her team, and she needed to show them they could rely on her. They were following her plan, and its success depended on her holding off Pyrrha. Ruby gripped Crescent Rose tighter and waded in once more with grim determination.

Ruby was beginning to form a suspicion about the nature of Pyrrha's Semblance. Too many of her swings went just a little wide of their mark to be a coincidence. She remembered the shot that went high, too, even when she was sure her aim had been true. Could Pyrrha actually somehow be deflecting attacks against her? If she was, what could Ruby do about it? A mad and reckless notion started to take shape in her brain. Ordinarily she wouldn't have even considered it, but she was losing the fight anyway, and what she was doing clearly wasn't working. Perhaps she could take Pyrrha by surprise and at least buy Weiss some breathing room.

Ruby fell back a few steps and streaked forwards before Pyrrha could shift Miló into rifle form. She didn't ready Crescent for a strike, but just held her high in both hands, parallel to ground. As she rushed forwards she could _feel_ some unseen force trying to tug the shaft down, which would have given Pyrrha an opening for a hopefully not literal decapitating strike. She had expected something like that, and resisted the influence with all her might. One end of the shaft made contact with Akoúo, pushing her slightly back, and the other end intercepted Miló in downward swing. It was as awkward a sword strike as Pyrrha had demonstrated in the fight; she had managed to surprise the experienced fighter, at least.

Ruby pushed Crescent up, lifting Pyrrha's arms with it, and let go. It went against her instincts, but if Pyrrha could affect Crescent in some way, she had to try something else. She still had some forward momentum and she used it to tackle Pyrrha. She wrapped her arms around Pyrrha's torso and lifted, dragging her feet off the ground. Pyrrha tried to twist in the air, but Ruby had superior leverage and managed to come up on top as they fell.

Lying on top of Pyrrha, Ruby grabbed both of her wrists to prevent her from using her weapons, and pinned her thighs with her own. She pressed her head tight against Pyrrha's chest to protect herself from a head-butt. She was aware that her head was buried in Pyrrha's cleavage, but she could feel embarrassed about that later. Right now she just wanted to keep Pyrrha pinned down to give her teammates the opportunity to turn the fight around.

It took all Ruby had to contain Pyrrha. She was stronger than Ruby, but it soon became clear that her fighting skills didn't extend to schoolyard wrestling as she struggled futilely under her. Perhaps she hadn't grown up with a sister. This was a rather embarrassing way to deal with the most talented fighter in their class, and not just because of the compromising position it put them in, but it if worked, Ruby wasn't going to complain. The position of her head inspired her to consider an even dirtier tactic. How would Pyrrha react if she were to—

"Ruby, what are you doing?"

Ruby turned her head towards Weiss's voice. She and Jaune had paused in their fighting, standing with their weapons raised, but their faces turned towards Ruby and Pyrrha. Their eyes were wide in surprise and their cheeks were red from exertion. Jaune's mouth was hanging open.

"Weiss, don't just stand there! Finish Jaune off while I hold Pyrrha down."

"Oh, uh, right."

Weiss shook her head, then sprang back into action. Her poise was perfect and her technique impeccable. She looked deft, delicate, and deadly, and Ruby had no doubt she would be the victor. Jaune wasn't even trying to attack, he was just trying to protect himself as best he could. He was fairly adept at using Crocea Mors to shield himself, but it was only a matter of time until Weiss got past his guard.

A sudden impact jarred Ruby's head, making it ring even with the protection her Aura gave her. Ruby tried to shake the cobwebs from her mind and understand what had happened. Had her hold slipped while she was watching Weiss? No, there was no way Pyrrha would have had enough leverage to strike her that hard. Her hand holding Miló was still pinned, and while she might be able to turn her wrist enough to use the butt end to hit her, she couldn't possibly strike her head or get that much force on it. Had it been the solid rim of Akoúo̱? Ruby tried to turn her head to see Pyrrha's left arm when another impact rang her skull.

The hits were enough to loosen her hold on Pyrrha, and she found herself flung off the other girl, still dizzy. She tried to get her feet under her even as Pyrrha lightly leaped on hers. Ruby noted she was holding Miló in his sword form with both hands, with no sign of Akoúo̱. She aimed a two-handed swing at Ruby's head. Ruby tried to bring her leaden arms up, put they moved slowly, way too slowly. When the strike connected Ruby briefly registered a painful flash signifying her Aura breaking, and then everything went black.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Never so strong**

Crescent Rose sat on Ruby's lap with her arms around the girl, doing her best to comfort her Guardian with her presence.

"I can't believe we lost," Ruby said in a voice that made Crescent want to kiss and caress her until she was feeling better. Unfortunately they weren't alone, so she restrained herself. She shifted to sit besides Ruby, but still nuzzled into her.

"I can't believe we lost either," said Yang. She was sitting on the bed next to Ruby, while her Aegises leaned against it on the floor.

"It shouldn't come as that much of a surprise," Blake said. She and Gambol Shroud sat next to Weiss on her bed. For some reason Blake seemed to be probing the bedsheets with her hand. "They are a very good team."

"Apart from Jaune."

"I don't know. He never got taken out, did he?"

"It is all Ruby's fault for changing the plan at the last moment and failing to keep Pyrrha from interfering."

"Hey, don't try to pin your failure to defeat Jaune on my sister!"

"It was all very frustrating. He kept cowering behind his shield and I couldn't properly flank him because Pyrrha kept disrupting my attacks."

"You still should have got it done. I bet I could have dropped him with one punch."

"Don't be so certain, Yang Xiao-Long. He seemed to have a ridiculous amount of Aura."

"Ooh, I like a boy with stamina. Ren's got the moves, but he just can't keep it up."

"Then how come you two lost?"

"Nora blindsided me. I don't still have a bruise, do I?"

"Your face is fine, Yang. I'm sorry I couldn't manage to keep her off of you, but those grenades were a little much."

"No kidding. It turns out that getting Nora riled up comes with the downside of getting Nora riled up."

"That was the entire point!"

"You take Magnhild to the face the next time, princess."

"I think I'd rather take a pounding from Nora than get double-teamed by Pyrrha and Jaune. Even if Jaune didn't contribute much more than a few inexpert thrusts, Pyrrha was talented enough to finish me off all on her own." Weiss glared at Yang who was openly giggling. "What? What is so funny?"

"Never mind me."

"I can't believe you can laugh at a moment like this. Don't you realize that we comprehensively lost? That could have a serious effect on all our grades for Combat class. And we can probably kiss any hope of participating in Vytal Festival tournament goodbye."

"The tournament wasn't even mentioned, Weiss. I wouldn't worry about it yet, it's still weeks away."

"Maybe you people don't care about your grades, but I am expected to perform to perfection. I don't want to even imagine what my family will think when they hear about this fiasco."

"We do care, Weiss, but what's done is done."

"I'm sorry, guys. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have switched targets at the last second; I'm sure Weiss would have done much better against Pyrrha."

"None of us managed to do our part, Rubes. Don't sweat it."

"Then the plan was a failure from the start. It's all my fault, either way."

"We all came up with the plan together."

"There's no point crying about the loss—"

"I'm not crying!"

"—Or laying blame. We lost, it happened, we can't change it now. All we can do is learn from it and do better next time. I still think it was a solid plan: we were right about what they were trying to do, and we successfully disrupted it."

"That's true. We split their group up just as we planned, and we managed to take down Ren pretty fast. If I'd done a better job against Nora, it would have been two on one."

"You did fine, Blake. It would have been two on one if I'd kept my wits about after Ren went down."

"Learn from mistakes, huh? I should have stuck with the plan. If I'd taken a shot at Jaune instead, he probably would have been out from the start."

"I don't know. He had a _lot_ of Aura. And I suppose I might not have necessarily done all that much better against Pyrrha. She is a four-time tournament champion, after all." Weiss directed a little half-smile at Ruby. "Although I probably wouldn't have ended up rolling on the ground with her."

Crescent whipped her head around from Weiss to Ruby. "You did what?"

"Way to go, sis. Did you manage to cop a feel? We all know how much you want that body."

Crescent didn't like just how red Ruby's face was getting. Was she just reacting to her sister's teasing, or had something actually happened?

"Yang! It's just that I couldn't land a single hit on her, and tried the only thing I could think of and wrestled her down."

"You're not making me think I'm wrong, Ruby."

"Anyway! I want to know how she managed to hit me. I was pretty sure I still had both her arms and legs pinned."

"Do you suppose she might have instructed one of her Aegises to transform to help her?"

"Are you serious, Blake? I can't believe Pyrrha could possibly endanger her Aegises like that. I'd never even think about doing it."

Crescent understood where Yang was coming from. When she was in weapon form, she couldn't observe her surroundings, apart from the general sensation of Ruby's presence, the comforting touch of her soul. Suddenly finding herself in the middle of a fight with no idea of what was going on would just put her at risk. She wasn't particularly adept at combat, and even with her Aura she was a lot more fragile in flesh than when transformed into metal. As happy as she would be to be a more active help to Ruby in a battle, in her human form she would be a liability rather than an asset.

"Yeah, I'd think a stunt like that might get you kicked out of the academy. Anyway, she was still holding Miló, at least."

"Well, it certainly wasn't Jaune, or any of the others. But I saw some movement from the corner of my eye. I thought she was hitting you."

"Well, something was hitting me, and without my Aura I'd have the bumps to prove it. Could she, you know, have some way of moving things remotely?"

"Telekinesis? Like professor Goodwitch? We'd have noticed that."

"If she'd displayed it. We know she downplays her abilities in the Combat class."

"Does anybody know her Semblance?"

"It's never come up, but if I could move things from a distance, I'd use it to prank people all day."

"Not all of us are that immature, Yang."

"Says the person who can't admit she was bested by Jaune."

"I was not bested by him! He just managed to hang on until Pyrrha overwhelmed me."

"My point exactly."

"How is that even a point?"

Blake got up, and Gambol Shroud followed suit. "If we're done with the debriefing, I have a book I could be reading."

"This isn't a debriefing, Blake, that's with Goodwitch later. This is a mutual pity party. Surely you can y _ang_ with the team a little longer."

"Fine," Blake said and sat back down. She directed the smallest of smiles at Yang. "But don't call me Shirley."

"Oh no," Crescent said. "It's spreading."

Crescent noticed Gambol Shroud and Myrtenaster looking at her, and realized the other Aegises hadn't said a thing yet. It was expected conduct from a well-behaved Aegis in a setting like this, but Ruby and Yang had always been more relaxed about these things, and the conversation had taken a turn from tactical discussion to a more informal one. It was alright for her to have spoken up, right? She hoped she hadn't offended Blake or Weiss, she didn't want to cause any trouble for Ruby.

"See, even Crescent can see you are a bad influence on me, Yang."

"She's a bad influence on everyone," Celica said.

"Us most of all," Ember said.

"What do you mean? I'm a role model!"

"Unfortunately."

"Ruby's turned out alright."

"That's probably on account of Qrow... no, wait, that can't be right."

"Taiyang, maybe? No, that doesn't sound plausible, either."

"It's because I have something very precious to take care of." Ruby hugged Crescent close, and it felt almost as good as hearing her words.

"Aww," Yang said.

"Get a room, you two."

Crescent stuck out her tongue at Celica. "This is our room."

"It is also our room, so please control your displays of affection."

Crescent directed an annoyed glance at Weiss. In the process she saw Myrtenaster behind her, sitting on her own bed. The look of longing that briefly showed on her face made her feel a stab in her heart. She knew she was lucky to have Ruby, and she wanted Myrtenaster to find happiness, too. Even if it had to be with Weiss.

"No need to be jealous, Weiss. We can work out a schedule so you two can get some alone time, too."

It was fascinating following the expressions on Weiss's face. First there was incomprehension and puzzlement as she worked out what she'd implied. It was followed by brief flash of embarrassment before annoyance and anger took over. Myrtenaster looked mortified; Crescent hoped she would understand she was trying to introduce the idea of her as a romantic prospect into Weiss's mind. It clearly wasn't going to happen on its own any time soon.

"What is that supposed to mean? We aren't the ones flaunting..." Weiss trailed off, looking around the other girls in the room. "Anyway, we don't need any 'alone time'."

"I don't know, you do seem a little tightly wound. You could probably use a good..."

"Yang!"

"I'm just saying, Rubes. There's a reason she gets called Ice Queen."

"We were talking about Pyrrha's semblance," Ruby said quickly, her cheeks red. "Can we focus on that for a moment."

"Actually, now that you mention it..." Weiss said, getting everyone's attention. Crescent didn't like how intently her eyes focused on Ruby, or her blushing cheeks. She hoped it was just to avoid looking at Yang. "I remember Pyrrha mentioning something about controlling her weapons with her Semblance, but I didn't have time to inquire further at the time." Suddenly her cheeks got even redder and she dropped her eyes. Crescent hoped it didn't have anything to do with the way Ruby gazed back at her. She didn't like that, either.

"I knew it."

"Worry not, Ruby, we will get to the bottom of this. I will not rest until I have wrested the secrets of Pyrrha's Semblance from her." Weiss whirled around on her bed. "Blake!"

Blake had to lean back to avoid being smacked as Weiss pointed a finger at her. She hurriedly extracted her hand from under the coverlet. "What?"

"You're a sneaky person."

"Excuse me?"

"You can help me spy on Pyrrha."

"I'm not sneaky."

"Of course you are. You even managed to get Yang all the way behind Team JNPR without them noticing."

"Hey, I can be sneaky, too."

Everyone in the room turned to look at Yang. None of them said anything, they just stared.

"What? I can."

"Anyway, Blake, we need to keep a close eye on Team JNPR's practices if we want to unravel this mystery."

"Or we could just ask Pyrrha. It's not like Semblances are state secrets, and they already beat us."

"Asking her will let her know we're onto her. It will only make covert surveillance that much harder."

"We're not going to spy on our friends," Yang said. "Well, not for something this ridiculous, anyway."

"Ridiculous? Pyrrha's secret Semblance may well have tipped the scales in their favor and cost us the match."

"And finding out what it is won't change that. Let it go."

"If you don't care about my grades, do you at least care about your sister? She was the one victimized by Pyrrha."

"It was a practice match, Weiss. I mean, yeah, it counts for our grade, but we were hardly victims."

"I hate to say it, but maybe Weiss has a point."

"Thank you, Blake."

"We might have to fight them again. It would be advantageous if we knew what their Semblances are. I don't think we know Ren's or Jaune's, either."

"I don't really care about the boys, I'm just interested in Pyrrha."

"Ruby?" Crescent loosened her embrace enough to be able to look Ruby in the eyes with a somewhat hurt expression.

"Her Semblance! I'm curious about her Semblance. I think she might have been influencing you, too."

"She did what?" Crescent shivered. "Now I feel a little unclean."

"Did you feel anything?"

"Weiss, we don't have senses when we are transformed. All I felt was Ruby's soul... until I didn't."

"I'm sorry to have put you through that. I should have done better."

"You are the one that got hurt, Ruby. I was fine." Crescent emphasized her concern with a kiss. It lasted maybe a little longer than she'd intended.

"Anyway! Maybe that's enough for the team meeting," Yang said brightly. "Anyone for dinner?"

"Yes. Dinner sounds good," Blake quickly agreed and started ushering Gambol Shroud out of the room.

"Okay, that's settled, then," Ruby said and pushed Crescent to side in order to get up. "Team, lets go get dinner."

Crescent was a little disappointed Ruby didn't want to stay behind with her, but perhaps that would have been too blatant for her taste. Also, she probably did need the food after the fight.

"We can feed ourselves without direction, you dolt," Weiss said, but without much heat. Crescent decided not to hold it against her, this time.

* * *

Weiss dragged Blake with her after the dinner, so Crescent and Ruby were alone when they ran into Pyrrha upon returning to their room. It wasn't an entirely surprising encounter, considering Team JNPR were their closest neighbors, but it was unusual to see Pyrrha alone, without even her Aegises. She looked awkward, visibly trying to avoid playing with her hands, which was even more unusual for the typically confident young woman. She had the air of a girl nervously waiting for someone with a confession on her mind. Crescent narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"Oh, Pyrrha. Hi." Ruby didn't sound quite natural, which didn't help Crescent's growing sense of unease.

"Ruby! Uh, I was hoping to run into you."

"Then it's lucky you happened to wait by her door."

Pyrrha hugged herself, avoiding looking directly at Ruby. "I wanted to talk about what happened in the forest. I... I wanted to apologize to you."

"You don't need to apologize. It was a good fight, and you guys won, fair and square."

"I didn't mean the fight as a whole, just the part between us two."

Ruby rubbed her neck. "Yeeeah, I kinda figured you did. I'm not sure you are the one who needs to apologize. I mean, I did kinda jump you."

Crescent was finding it hard to keep her peace, but she'd already spoken out of turn once. Just what had happened between the two that made them this uncomfortable? A cold feeling was growing in Crescent's stomach. She had no doubt about Ruby's feelings for her, but that didn't mean she would always be the only one in her life. Aegises often found themselves relegated to second place, if for no other reason than that Guardians were expected to have children like everyone else, and that wasn't going to happen with their Aegis. That wasn't the issue here, but it was an uncomfortable precedent, and it was obvious Ruby found Pyrrha quite attractive.

"That did surprise me." Pyrrha let out a short nervous laugh. "It's not something that's ever happened to me in a tournament. I was pretty startled when you pressed your face into... but I guess that was to protect your head."

"Yep, wrestling with Yang as a kid taught me to be wary of head-butts. Not that it ever helped me much. Yang always won, since she's always been much bigger and stronger."

Pyrrha put a hand in front of her mouth to suppress a giggle. "So it was something like improvised freestyle? No wonder my knowledge of Argo-Mistralian wrestling didn't prepare me for it. It doesn't allow holds below waist, or use of legs." Pyrrha looked at Ruby with a small smile, having regained control of herself. "The initial lift was quite legitimate. I'm a little ashamed you managed to expose me so easily."

"Expose you? What do you mean?"

"Sorry, technical term. Basically she got me on my back with her on top."

Crescent made a little choking sound.

"I was a little surprised you didn't manage to get me off. I thought maybe it was a new experience for you."

"I think I panicked a little. If I'd been thinking clearly, I would have done better. I should have let go of my weapons right away, but it goes a little against instinct. And I must say your legs are surprisingly muscular."

"Yeah, well, my Semblance is speed, so I go with my strengths. But you did get me off eventually. I'm still not sure how you did it."

"Oh, that was Akoúo̱. I slammed her into you pretty hard with my Semblance. It's Polarity, by the way."

"You, uh, control poles?"

"Magnetism. I can control metal objects near me, like my weapons when they are transformed, or those of my opponent."

"So that's how you retrieved Akoúo̱. Oh! And is that why I had such hard time hitting you?"

"Yes. I was using Polarity to subtly guide the trajectory of your strikes and shots. I also used it to push Crescent here aside to create openings for my attacks."

"I thought there was something screwy going on, but I wasn't quite sure what it was."

"I try to use it as little and as I can. It's most effective when my opponents don't pick up on it."

"I've never tried to keep my Semblance a secret, but it is pretty blatant. I can see the advantage, though. Are you sure you should be telling me?"

"We were opponents today, but in natural course of things we're allies. Also, it's the least I could do to tell you. I feel guilty about the end of our bout. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have delivered that last blow. I was worried about what Weiss was doing to Jaune, and I'm afraid my judgment was impaired. I'm sorry."

"I'm sure no-one can blame you for fighting to the end."

"There's no excuse for fighting to Aura break and beyond in a training exercise. I should have noticed how low you were and held off."

"I should have kept better track of my Aura level and yielded. It's just that suddenly the whole fight was going wrong and my plan was unraveling and I really, really didn't want to be the reason my team lost. But I was, anyway."

"I thought you did really well. I know that might sound a little patronizing, but for someone with two years less experience you pushed me quite hard. I don't usually need to rely so heavily on my Semblance. I barely managed to deflect that first shot."

"Yeah, well, we still lost."

"Today you did. Next time things might go differently. And again, sorry."

"It's fine. I don't think Goodwitch will be very impressed with me for putting us in that situation. I have no hard feelings."

"Good. I'm happy to hear that. I value our friendship and I was worried I'd ruined things."

"It's not the first time I've been knocked out in a friendly fight. It's usually Yang. It happens."

"I suppose it does. I will endeavor to be more careful in the future. But now I think I should leave you two alone."

"It was a nice talk, Pyrrha. Don't be a stranger."

Crescent followed Ruby into their room once Pyrrha had walked off.

"It was very nice of Pyrrha to come to apologize, even if I don't think she really needed to. She worries too much."

"Sounds like she had some reason to."

"Eh, it wasn't that bad." Suddenly Ruby giggled. "And she was kind enough to tell us her Semblance. Weiss will be so upset when she finds out. Do you think they're still looking for her?"

"Probably." Crescent moved to hug Ruby from behind. "She'll probably be gone for a while."

"I guess she will. Do you feel in need of maintenance?"

"I was thinking maybe you'd let me take care of you tonight. You've had a rough day."

"I never have so rough a day I can't see to my weapon's needs."

Crescent kissed Ruby's neck. "I love the way you look after me. I love you. And I want to treat you tonight." She could feel Ruby shiver in her arms. She gently guided her towards their bed. "I promise you'll forget all about the lost fight."

"What fight?" Ruby asked as Crescent slid her hands under her skirt.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Air of silent mystery**

Blake woke up to a loud conversation, as she had on more mornings than was strictly desirable. This time it was even more irksome than usual since it was Saturday. Her bed didn't appear to be on fire, so there could be no good reason to be awake this early on a Saturday. She buried her head in the pillow and tried to ignore Yang and her weapons. It might work some time.

Her roommates were usually considerate enough to not make too much noise until it was time to wake up for the classes. They had very different standards for "too much noise," of course, but she couldn't explain that without revealing the presence of her sensitive extra pair of ears. She surreptitiously moved a hand to check her concealing bow was still present at the top of her head. It was.

The movement brought her slightly nearer to a state of wakefulness, and she asked herself why Yang, Ember, and Celica were so much less considerate today than on the previous Saturdays. Had she mistaken the day? Had she forgotten some event? She considered opening her eyes to investigate the matter, but decided to curl up tighter instead. The room was cold and bright, and it was nice and warm under her duvet.

Somebody very rudely shook her shoulder. "Wakey-wakey, sleepyhead." Yang. Of course it was Yang.

"Go 'way."

"No can do, Blake. You need to get up."

"Don't wanna."

"We can do this the easy way, or the fun way."

"Leave me alone, Yang. It's Saturday." She was pretty sure it was Saturday.

"That's right, and it means we have a meeting with Goodwitch at ten. I figured you'd like to have some breakfast before then."

"You can go without me."

"Blake, get up. You won't forgive me if I let you sabotage your studies."

"I can live with that."

"Alright, fun way it is."

Suddenly the warm cocoon was ripped from around her body and cool air assaulted her exposed limbs. She sat up in a flash and glared at Yang with her eyes dangerously narrowed. Yang just appeared amused. Perhaps the effect would have been better if her eyes had been less bleary.

"Give me back my duvet." Her precious new duvet.

"Are you awake now?"

"Yes."

"Fine, as long as you won't go back to sleep."

"As if I could." Blake grabbed her wonderful, warm Atlesian duvet encased in its fresh covering and hugged the soft mass against her chest.

"Where'd you get that thing anyway? It's not school issue."

Of course not. The school only provided thin bedsheets, with pitiful blankets available on request. "I demanded it as payment from Weiss, for making me waste an afternoon pointlessly trailing Team JNPR."

"Oh. She brought it with her from Atlas?"

"Yes."

"Well, I guess it makes sense up there, but don't you think it's a little too warm for Vale?"

"No." Too warm? It was a senseless concept.

"If you say so. Well, I'll use the bathroom while you get yourself sorted out."

Yang stepped toward the bathroom, but it was already too late. A duet of giggles and a slammed door announced the ruination of her plans. She rushed to the door and banged her fist on it. "Hey, you two, get out of there and let me in."

Blake turned to look at her own Aegis. Gambol Shroud was sitting up on her bed and trying to peer about though struggling to get her eyes open. Her hair was was in disarray, but her bow was thankfully still present. She looked like a sleepy kitten, and Blake wanted nothing more than to cuddle her and go back to sleep. She restrained herself. Gambol Shroud wasn't a child anymore, and she should treat her with a little more consideration; not that she'd ever complained about sharing a bed. Anyway, such displays of affection could be misinterpreted, especially by someone with a dirty mind, like Yang.

"Good morning."

"Morning," Gambol Shround mumbled, then rubbed her eyes with the backs of her hands.

"It looks like we got beaten to the bathroom once again."

"It's okay."

"You could stay here and sleep. I think the appointment is only for the team." It wasn't like Gambol Shroud had seen any of the fight.

"I go with you."

She always did. Since she'd adopted her they had rarely been further than arm's length apart. Being Joined was a partnership unlike any other, and it was difficult to explain to anyone who didn't have an Aegis of their own. Gambol Shroud wasn't her wife, or her sister, or her daughter, and certainly not her pet. She was, however, closer to her than anyone else had ever been, perhaps closer than anyone could ever be. It wasn't precisely an equal partnership, as Blake called the shots, but every one of her decisions was made with Gambol Shroud in mind. She would never hurt her. Not like she'd been hurt.

A memory of Adam darkened her mood. He had never liked Gambol Shroud. That in itself should have told her he was no good. Blake shook herself, trying to rid herself of the unwanted memories by a physical effort. She looked around the room to find something more pleasant to occupy her mind.

Yang, in the process of lifting her bed, obliviously obliged. With three beds crammed on their side of the room, Yang and her weapons didn't really have room for all of their belongings, and Yang sometimes had to lift the beds to get to the things stored under them. Blake didn't mind when she did that; not with the way it emphasized the muscles on her shoulders and arms, conveniently displayed by the tank top she wore to bed.

Blake felt a little dirty for leering on her roommate, but it was hard not to. Although Guardians invariably had well-formed bodies, Blake had never met anyone who combined voluptuous curves with an exquisite muscle definition the way Yang did. Blake thought Yang was easily the girl with the most perfect body at the Academy, though Pyrrha's fan club might disagree. Deciding between the two came down to a question of taste.

Yang made leering on her so easy, too. She didn't think anything of changing clothes in the room, like she was doing right now; she felt it was no different from the locker room, since they were all girls anyway. Blake didn't quite share the sentiment. The presence of strangers and the spartan decorations made changing rooms impersonal. This room they shared as a living space was a much more intimate setting. She hadn't voiced her opinion to Yang, though, out of fear it might lead her to use the bathroom to change. Yang changing clothes was easily the best reason Blake could think of to wake up early. She didn't exactly stare at her, but she didn't quite avert her eyes, either.

Blake looked at Gambol Shroud at the bed behind her. She was quietly watching her, with a look on her face Blake didn't quite understand. Blake was certain she knew about her viewing habits, even though she'd never talked about it with her weapon. Just the thought of discussing something like that with her made Blake feel embarrassed. Gambol Shroud was too young for that sort of thing; she kept her spicier novels hidden for a reason.

Yet looking at Gambol Shroud sitting on her bed, she was forced to note that she was not a child anymore. Before long she would develop romantic interests of her own. It was a distressing thought. Blake pictured Gambol Shroud in the embrace of someone else and immediately recoiled from the thought. She couldn't bear the thought of a stranger laying hands on her Aegis. It was really no wonder so many Guardians ended up involved with their weapons in her novels. What other arrangement could be acceptable?

Was that going to happen to them? She'd never thought about Gambol Shroud in that way. Well, not seriously. It would be too weird; she had practically raised her, too. Even if she had to admit Gambol Shroud was growing up to be a lovely young woman, and that there wasn't all that much age difference between them, really. Although they weren't quite sure about her exact age, she probably wasn't any younger than Ruby, and Ruby already was in a relationship—with her Aegis.

Blake abruptly rose up and stepped away from the bed. She needed to get off this line of thoughts. She wasn't paying attention to her surroundings, and immediately collided with Yang. No damage was done that their Auras couldn't heal. There was a lot of padding in the way, too.

"Woah, settle down there. The bathroom is still occupied." Yang's hand were on her arms. They were very warm. At least she was dressed by now.

"Sorry. I'm not a morning person."

"Don't I know it." Yang pushed her back to study her. The intensity of her gaze made Blake feel embarrassed. "Your face is all red. I told you the duvet is too hot."

Blake thanked her luck Yang had attributed her flushed cheeks to the wrong cause. It was not the duvet that was too hot.

* * *

Blake and Yang met the other half of the team in the corridor, and after breakfast the leader of Team RWBY, Ruby, led them to the study room where they were to receive feedback on their fight from Professor Goodwitch. Blake was slightly surprised to find Team JNPR by the door.

"Oh, hey, guys," Ruby said. "Did you just get finished?"

"Morning, Ruby." Blake noticed that Crescent Rose stiffened at Pyrrha's greeting. "No, we were just about to go in."

"Huh. So are we. They have us both here at the same time?"

"I guess it makes sense," Jaune said. "We were both at the fight, too."

"Which we won, by the way."

"Nora."

"Well, we did. Even if you weren't around for it." Nora narrowed her eyes at Yang. "Don't think I've forgotten."

"Hey, Ren was a legitimate target. I don't know why you are so bent out of shape about it. Ren doesn't hold a grudge." Yang threw her arm around the young man. "Do you, Ren?"

"I do not. It was a fair fight."

"See? We're all friends here."

"That's right. It was a friendly brawl. Shall we go in?"

"Yes, let's get this over with. Everybody behave in there, alright?" Blake didn't think Jaune's admonishment was necessary. Professor Goodwitch was one of the more intimidating teachers at the Academy, and nobody made trouble when she was around.

"Is there even room for all of us?"

"The Aegises can probably wait outside. It's not like they saw anything that happened."

"Yeah, that's probably best. Will you guys be alright waiting out here?"

"No!" Ember threw herself at Yang and wrapped her arms around her neck. "I can't bear to be apart from you for so long." Celica followed suit. "You could be gone for thirty minutes or even more!"

"Very funny, guys." Blake noted that Yang didn't seem at all inconvenienced by having two women hanging off her. The Aura made all Guardians strong, but they didn't all give the impression of immovable solidity Yang did.

Blake turned to look at Gambol Shroud. She didn't like leaving her alone, especially in a strange environment. She was no longer a child, though, and she had become more comfortable with other people. She hadn't even once tried to hide under the bed when someone walked into their room. She gave her a questioning look, and Gambol Shroud responded with a determined nod. She would be fine.

"Come on." Celica placed a hand on Gambol Shroud's shoulder and smiled at her gently. "Let's go find someplace to sit."

Blake watched as her Aegis followed Ember and Celica. It was strange how kind the two rambunctious weapons could be towards Gambol Shroud, but Blake was happy for it. It was nice to know there was somebody else to look after her weapon when she couldn't be there. It was nice to know it was safe to leave her alone. Why was it that she felt much more comfortable here, hidden among strangers, than she had in the final months among her comrades?

Blake forced her thoughts back to the present as she followed her team into the room. Two tables had been laid together for the teams to sit at. Professor Goodwitch sat at the end, and Ruby had already taken a seat next to her, as befitted a leader. Jaune, with a little nudge from Pyrrha, sat down opposite from her. Weiss sat down next to her partner. Blake hurried to take the last seat on their team's side so Yang would be seated between her and the Schnee heiress.

"Team JNPR, Team RWBY, good morning."

The teams chorused a response to professor Goodwitch's greeting.

"I have reviewed the footage from your fight, and for the most part I am content with what I saw. There is little point in going through the minutia, since as students of this prestigious Academy you are expected to already be proficient in personal combat and rudiments of teamwork. Unless you absolutely want me to cover everything, I will confine my remarks to things that stood out, for good or ill." Goodwitch paused to let the students chime in. When nobody did, she adjusted her glasses and glanced at her scroll. "First off, it seems to me that Team RWBY was more prepared for the contest, successfully dividing Team JNPR with their ambush. Mr. Arc, did it not occur to you that, as a less mobile team, it would have been to your advantage to stick together?"

"Huh? Of course it did. It's what we set out to do. There was just... a little miscommunication at some point." Jaune's eyes strayed down the table for a second, but Blake gave him credit for not fingering Nora.

"Such miscommunications can be quite costly in a less friendly match. I don't think I need to tell you to work on that."

"We will."

"Ren really dropped the ball, letting me go off like that."

"Ms. Valkyrie, I really don't think you should lay the blame for your actions on your partner failing to restrain you."

"It's his job!"

"Ms. Rose." Ruby let out a little 'eep' as professor Goodwitch suddenly rounded on her. "You followed your successful ambush with the second gravest mistake you committed in the entire fight when you pitted yourself against Ms. Nikos. Did you not realize that Ms. Schnee would have been better suited to the task of containing her?"

"Well, uh..."

"It was clear we needed to engage Pyrrha straight away, and I cannot match Ruby's speed. She was quite capable of holding her off for the time it would take me to deal with Mr. Arc." Weiss looked down. "Or so we thought."

Blake didn't show her surprise at Weiss speaking up in Ruby's defense. She had been ready enough with her criticisms in their team meeting. Perhaps she did after all have enough team loyalty to stick up for her partner when challenged by an outsider. Blake understood that well enough. She hadn't agreed with everything White Fang did, especially towards the end, but it was important to not show division in front of their enemies. Until now she hadn't considered that the same might also apply to a Schnee.

"If that was the reasoning then you should have switched opponents as your teammates did. You might have been more successful."

Weiss looked disgruntled while Ruby just hung her head. Nobody around the table looked particularly cheerful, apart from Nora.

Professor Goodwitch again consulted her scroll. "Moving on: Mr. Arc. It could be argued that your dogged defense swung the fight in your team's favor, but your technique and offense leave a lot to desire."

"I will work on it, Ma'am."

"'Professor' will do, Mr. Arc. Mr. Lie, Ms. Valkyrie, apart from the undisciplined episode at the start, I think you acquitted yourselves quite creditably. One of you should work on their stamina, and the other on curbing their enthusiasm."

"That's Ren for you: always flying off the handle." Nora looked at professor Goodwitch's serious face. "I know, I know, I should have had Ren's back. I know he can't take a hit like I can."

Ren was an artist with his Aura, and Blake hadn't been able to lay a serious hit on him, but his style took a toll on his reserves. One stumble gave Yang the opening she needed to put him out of the fight.

"Ms. Xiao Long, you would do well to be a little more careful; Ms. Belladonna, you could stand to be a little more aggressive. Other than that, you performed quite adequately."

"Apart from the part where I got taken down in one hit like a little bi—chump."

"Like I said, a little more careful." Goodwitch let her gaze circle the table. "Do you have any comments or questions so far?"

"Professor, will our loss affect our chances to enter the Vytal Festival Tournament?"

"It does not. Once we are closer to the tournament, any interested teams can submit a request to enter it, and the selection will be done at that time. I would think your chances are quite good, if we can deal with one source of doubt. Ms. Nikos, Ms. Rose, I believe you know what I'm talking about."

"I do."

Blake found herself speaking out in defense of the two young women, rather to her surprise. "It was a combat incident, surely."

"And you can hardly blame Ruby for getting hit." Weiss supporting Ruby was even more surprising to Blake.

"I can. She should have kept a better track of her Aura level, and yielded in time."

"I should have known better than to take that last strike."

"Indeed you should have. I must confess I'm somewhat surprised that you of all people, Ms. Nikos, were the one to make such a mistake."

"I'm sorry. I'll do better next time."

"I'd very much like to trust you. You are an exceptionally talented young woman, and we were quite happy you chose to attend this prestigious Academy. You would in all probability do this institution credit in the Vytal Festival Tournament. But I'm sure you can understand that if there remains any suspicion of a repeat incident, letting you participate would risk the reputation of Beacon Academy and, more importantly, the lives of your opponents."

Pyrrha hung her head. "I understand, Professor."

"I'm sure Pyrrha already feels terrible enough. You don't have to keep rubbing it in."

"Do you feel terrible, Ms. Nikos?"

"Yes, Professor."

"Good. That means you will remember your mistake, and are less likely to repeat it. Some lessons are best learned from experience, even if it's painful. We train warriors here, and we cannot afford to coddle you. You will find yourself in danger, even mortal danger, during your time here. But there's no cause to add to those dangers through negligence."

"I understand, Professor."

"I believe you do. What about you, Ms. Rose? Do you understand."

"Yes, Professor."

"Explain your mistake, then."

"Like you said, I should have yielded. I knew I was low."

"And what did you risk?"

"My own life. The lives of my teammates, and Team JNPR. My precious Crescent Rose."

"That's nonsense, Ruby. The rest of us—"

"We didn't know if the battlefield was safe. What if Grimm had shown up while I was unconscious and vulnerable? I couldn't have helped you guys. Worse than that, I would have been a liability because you would have had to protect me."

"I see you do understand, Ms. Rose. As a leader, you are not only responsible for yourself. Any risk you take also affects those in your charge. I don't think you will be repeating your mistake any time soon, either."

"No, Professor."

"Ruby is my partner. That makes her my responsibility. I should have protected her."

"Why didn't you? Ms. Nikos helped out her partner through the entire fight. Why did you fail to do the same for Ms. Rose?"

"I... I was too busy with... I..." Weiss looked down. "I wasn't good enough."

Weiss fell silent, and with her the entire table. None of them looked too happy.

"There's no need to look glum. You all made some mistakes. That's entirely acceptable. Nobody expects you to be perfect from the start. I hope you all understand that I'm not picking on you to be mean. I'm pointing out your mistakes so that you can learn from them, and do better next time. You will, won't you?"

"Yes, Professor," the student chorused, more or less enthusiastically.

"I think we have dealt with the overview and team-level issues. We still have plenty of time, so I can go over individual performances with anyone who wants to. The rest of you can leave now."

"I'll stay," Jaune said.

"I believe I know what I did wrong. I'll be back at the room, Jaune." Blake was mildly surprised Pyrrha wasn't staying, even if only to give Jaune moral support.

"Come on, Ren. Pancakes await."

"I think I'll stay," Ruby said. "What about you, Weiss?"

"I'm not too proud to get some pointers from a Huntress of Professor Goodwitch's caliber."

"Nice suck-up, Weiss. Well, you two have fun, I'm outta here. You coming, Blake?"

"Might as well." Blake followed Yang out of the room.

Blake felt confident in her abilities in combat. She was eventually overpowered, but she had been the last member of Team RWBY standing. It was obvious their biggest failing wasn't their individual abilities, but their teamwork. They hadn't really fought as a team, even to the extent they had against the Nevermore, and they had barely worked with their partners. Blake wondered if maybe hammering that lesson home had been the real aim of the exercise. Against real enemies, they would have to do better. She would have to do better. She wasn't really a team player, but she would have to get over it.

Blake had to wonder if any of them were team players. Yang seemed to be someone who leaped before she looked and preferred to do things her own way. Weiss talked a good game about teamwork, but she seemed too aloof to actually deign to work with them. Ruby had a tendency to rush in and take on too much, whether to show off or in an attempt to prove herself. They had ways to go to really become a team.

Gambol Shroud rushed to meet her, and Blake absentmindedly embraced her in a hug, forgetting they were in public. She let her go and her weapon assumed her spot by her side. Gambol Shroud trusted her to take care of her, and she refused to let her down. Part of that was to secure her position here at the Academy. She couldn't let her own hangups get in the way of that.

"Hey, Yang."

"Yeah?"

"We didn't really shine as partners, yesterday. Wanna spend some time working on that?"

"Hell, yeah. Next time we won't be on the losing side."

Yang grinned at Blake, and she gave her a little lopsided smile as a return. Despite herself, it was hard to feel too reserved in Yang's company.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Stories scattered through time**

Ruby smoothed down her uniform, grabbed her textbook and notes for History, and set out to find her tutor. It wasn't a long trip, as Yang and Blake's room was just across the hall from the one she shared with Weiss and their weapons. The door to the room was closed. Ruby could have knocked, but as the team leader she did have access to her teammates' room. She decided the moment called for decisive leadership and swiped her scroll at the reader. The door unlocked, and she let herself in.

The room was identical to hers, except for the décor. Ruby and Crescent had donated one of their beds to Ember and Celica, and at some point they and Yang had improvised a bunk bed for them on Yang's side of the room. The other side had the two regulation beds, with Gambol Shroud jumping up and down on the furthest one.

The second Gambol Shroud saw Ruby she froze. Though her body went rigid, the momentum still made her bounce a couple of times as she stared at Ruby with wide eyes. Once she recovered she sat down in a flash. She pressed her legs together and bowed her head, looking down at her hands resting on her lap. Her cheeks turned pink with embarrassment, and even her bow seemed to droop. Ruby felt bad for barging in and startling her.

"Hi, Gambol."

Silence.

"Is Blake in the bathroom?"

A nod.

"Full of energy, but nervous around strangers, huh?" Ruby set her things down on Blake's desk, then laid down on the bed with her head next to Gambol Shroud and her legs dangling over the end. The angle let her look up at the young Aegis's face. "You know who you remind me of?"

The Aegis glanced at Ruby and then quickly looked away again.

"Me." Gambol Shroud still didn't look at her. "I used to be just like that when I was younger. I'd take cover behind Yang's legs when strange people were around, and if they got too close I would run and hide."

Gambol Shroud peeked at Ruby again, and she gave her a friendly smile.

"People were surprised when they heard I wanted to be a Huntress. They thought it was funny. It always annoyed me. Just because I didn't know how to deal with people didn't mean I was afraid of monsters, you know?"

Gambol Shroud looked at Ruby and gave a little nod. Ruby smiled at her again.

"I knew you'd understand. You and Blake have killed your share of monsters, haven't you?"

"Yes." Ruby gave a little internal cheer at hearing the shy weapon's voice. She was making progress.

"Oh, Ruby. You're here already."

"Hiya, Blake."

"Where's Crescent Rose?"

"She figured she's doing well enough to pass the class without help. She's not really that into history."

"She's probably right. Besides, it's not like they would kick your weapon out as long as you are here."

"No, but they'd probably expect me to get on her case. I don't really want to do that."

"You are responsible for your Aegis."

"I know. And like I said she's probably going to pass. She can hang out with Myrtenaster if she wants." Crescent had always been more social than Ruby, especially among her fellow Aegises. Ruby quite supported her getting friendly with her partner's weapon. She wanted to be closer to Weiss, too.

"I don't think you really need this, either."

"I just want to set a good example."

"Well, let's get started then."

Blake took a chair from Yang's desk and brought it over to hers. She sat down and motioned Ruby to join her.

"Should Gambol Shroud maybe join us?"

"She already knows this stuff."

"Figures. She just looks so young, but it's always tough to tell with an Aegis." Ruby turned to look at the young-seeming girl. "Hey, how old are you?"

Gambol Shroud looked a little alarmed and glanced at Blake.

"She's about your age, I think, maybe a little younger. We're not really sure." Blake gave a Ruby a considering look before elaborating. "She's an orphan."

"Oh. That's tough." Orphans weren't uncommon in this world with Grimm in it, especially outside the major settlements. Ruby recalled Blake saying she'd grown up outside the Kingdoms. "She has you, at least."

"Yes. Can we just get started? Last week Doctor Oobleck covered the major battles of the Faunus Rights Revolution, and you wanted me to give you some background to that."

Ruby wasn't the most perceptive of souls, but she knew when someone wanted to move away from a painful subject. "Yeah, that'd be great. I don't really know that much about the Revolution."

"What do you know?"

"It was right after the War, right? Faunus got the Menagerie for their own country and they were supposed to get equal rights to humans, but they didn't think the humans were living up to the bargain, I guess?"

"That's actually not bad, especially since most humans consider it ancient history. Okay, to give a real background we need to go all the way back to when humans and faunus first met."

"It didn't go well, huh?"

"No, it didn't. From the start, the humans found the faunus unnerving, and treated them with mistrust and sometimes even open hostility. Or so it's said, we don't actually have any records going back that far. The Kingdoms didn't exist yet, there were only small, isolated communities. I guess they treated all outsiders with suspicion, and the faunus looked obviously different. I've heard some people even suspected they were related to the Grimm."

"That's just silly, though. Faunus have souls, too. You can feel it."

"People were silly and superstitious back then. Anyway, humans didn't let them into their fortified villages, and sometimes even hunted them down."

"Not the most glorious past, is it? But didn't the faunus have villages of their own?"

"There's always been less faunus than humans, and you know how vulnerable remote settlements are. There may have been faunus villages, but history doesn't know them. So much has been lost to the Grimm."

"But we've survived. And now it's our turn to keep the darkness back."

"That's right. The turning point in human-faunus relations was a Grimm attack on a village somewhere on Sanus, where humans and faunus joined forces to fight it off. That made the humans there realize that faunus were people like them, and could be trusted. Unfortunately, the humans couldn't be."

"I guess we kinda suck, huh?"

"Not all humans. But too many do. I don't want to dwell on this too much, but from the start faunus were treated as second class citizens. They may have been allowed into the villages, but they got the crummiest jobs and only scraps to show for it. When the Kingdoms began to form, their treatment developed into actual slavery in Mistral and Mantle."

"Anyone would revolt at that."

"There wasn't a lot they could do about it, outnumbered as they were. It changed after the Great War."

"How? I mean, the war didn't exactly make more faunus, did it?"

"No, but all the Kingdoms recruited faunus to fight, often in their own units, and they served with distinction. After the war, it was harder to pretend they were inferior to humans. It also helped that the slave nations lost. Vacuo had always treated the faunus better than the other Kingdoms, and they were on the winning side."

"Vale, too. We weren't that bad, right?"

"Not compared to Mantle and Mistral, at least. The postbellum was a—"

"The what?" Ruby wasn't sure she'd heard that right.

"The time after the war. It was a period of great change as the Kingdoms tried to find a way to ensure peace would last. The faunus saw their chance. They pushed for equal rights, and in the post-War euphoria, the winning Kingdoms were willing to grant it. It didn't hurt that for the first time there was a unified movement of faunus, and quite a few of them had experience in the War. They were a force to be reckoned with. They got their freedom, and they even got Menagerie for their exclusive use."

"That was pretty generous, right?"

"The Kingdoms didn't really give up much, as none of them had settlements there anymore. Having it inhabited would also keep the Grimm in check. It seemed like an arrangement that would work for everyone. Some faunus saw it as reparation for their treatment in the past."

"But obviously things didn't work out, since the Revolution broke out. Or did the faunus just get greedy?"

"Of course not! It was the humans who went back on their word. It didn't take long for the discrimination to start up again. It was even worse, in a way. Quite a few humans felt that if the faunus didn't like how they were treated in the Kingdoms, they had a place of their own now where they could go."

"Then why didn't they?"

"The Kingdoms were their home, too. Some did move, but most felt that they had fought for their Kingdom right beside the humans, and they had just as much right to live there."

"Oh, yeah, I can understand that."

"The discrimination was leading to raising tensions again, and the leaders of the Kingdoms decided that the best way to keep the peace was to kick the faunus out. Relocation of the faunus to Menagerie became an official policy. Faunus could have their equal rights, far away from the Kingdoms of humans. That's where the name Menagerie came from; a place to keep the animals."

"That's horrible!"

"Yes, it was. And the faunus had had enough. An army formed around the faunus veterans of the Great War, and the faunus fought for their rights. And they won."

"You can't really change people's minds through war, though."

"No, you can't. But you can change policy. The Faunus Rights Revolution led to the Kingdoms starting to protect the rights of the faunus and to censure the bigots, like they should have done in the first place. It didn't change the world with a stroke of magic, but it ended the organized discrimination, and things finally started getting better for the faunus. And they have, ever since. Many faunus feel the progress is too slow, though."

"The White Fang, especially."

"The White Fang were originally founded as a symbol of peace and unity between the humans and the faunus. Their goal was to foster mutual understanding and safeguard faunus rights. They remained non-violent for a long time. It wasn't until recently they started trying to secure those rights through force."

"Don't they realize that doesn't work?"

"But it does work! W... the faunus only have what rights they do because of the Faunus Rights Revolution, which was an outright war. After the White Fang started attacking people and organizations oppressing faunus, they have been treated better, at least outwardly."

Ruby wondered how to express her thoughts on the matter. Blake had clearly given the matter some thought, while she struggled to find the right words. "You can't change people's hearts through violence, not for the better. If people treat faunus better only because they are afraid of retaliation, they will hate it. It will only lead to more hatred towards the faunus."

"You... are not wrong." Blake hugged herself. "But given the history of faunus, it's not hard to see why so many of them support the current methods of the White Fang. The faunus should be equal already, not still getting there."

"You really are passionate about this, aren't you?"

"What do you mean? I'm just trying to give you the background you asked for."

"I don't think I've ever heard you talk this much."

"How am I going to teach you without talking?"

"You know what I mean. You obviously sympathize with the faunus."

"What about you?"

"I guess I'm with the faunus, too. I haven't known very many, but they've all been people just like me. They should be treated just the same as the rest of us."

"You are one of the good ones, Ruby. It's a shame everyone isn't like you."

"You are, though. And so's Yang."

"I know. What about Weiss?"

"I'm sure she feels the same way. She has a good heart, under all the ice."

"I wish I shared your confidence. But some of the things she says are a little... insensitive."

Ruby couldn't help a little wry smile. "Lot of the things she says are a little insensitive."

"I know, but I mean... well, let's just drop it for now."

"So, what next?"

"I guess that's pretty much the overview of the developments that led to the Revolution. I can go to greater detail, but I don't think you'll need that for the class. Maybe some names and dates."

"I've got to be honest, that was a little shorter than I expected." Perhaps Blake wasn't confident about her attention span.

Blake gave a little chuckle. "I had a lot more written down, but I skipped a lot of it. I guess I'm more comfortable writing than talking."

"Well, I enjoyed listening to you. It feels a little silly to only come here for a few minutes. We could cover something else, maybe?"

"I don't have anything else prepared. Maybe I could tell you more about the faunus?"

"I'd like that."

Ruby smiled at Blake as they sat side by side. She suddenly realized Blake's startling amber eyes were very close.

"What?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare. You just have really unusual eyes."

"That's something, coming from a silver-eyed girl."

"Point. Anyway, they're really pretty."

Blake's pretty eyes widened at that. "Uh, thanks. Yours are pretty, too?"

"Thank you." Ruby felt her cheeks heat up at the compliment. The moment stretched on as they held each other's gaze.

Blake looked away. "Anyway, how about those faunus?"

"Uh, yeah, go on ahead." Ruby just hoped she hadn't given Blake the wrong idea. She didn't need to give Crescent any more reasons to feel jealous.

* * *

Ruby spent the next hour talking with Blake about the faunus, the talk getting less structured and more casual the longer it went. Ruby didn't mind; she found that she quite enjoyed hanging out with Blake, and Blake seemed happy enough to talk, too. This socialization wasn't too bad, especially with someone as nice as Blake. Gambol Shroud occasionally listened to them, or occupied herself by reading her scroll or a book, alternating between lying on her own bed and on Blake's.

"I think we strayed from our original topic at some point."

"It's been fun, though. And informative."

"I'm glad. But maybe we should wrap it up?"

"You want me out of your hair, huh? Well, okay. But I enjoyed this."

"I didn't mean that, I'm just not used to talking this much... Maybe we could go get coffee?"

"I'm not a big coffee drinker. But I could join you for a few cookies?"

Blake smiled. "Sure."

Blake led them out of the room, and Gambol Shroud joined in, naturally enough. They waited in the corridor while Ruby stashed her materials back in her room. As they walked towards the cafeteria, Ruby sent a quick text to Crescent about her plans.

* * *

The cafeteria had a fair crowd in it, but Beacon Academy was built on a truly heroic scale, and there was no shortage of free seats. While Blake and Gambol Shroud were getting their coffee, Ruby poured herself a tall glass of milk, and piled cookies on her tray until her guilt at looting the table overcame her love for the delicious treats. But it wasn't like she wasn't going to share; she was sure Gambol Shroud would appreciate a cookie with her coffee.

Ruby turned to look for a suitable seat, only to see Pyrrha cheerfully waving at her. Her mouth automatically formed a smile in response, and she walked over.

"Hello, Ruby. Would you care to join us?"

"Sure. Is it okay if Blake joins us, too?"

"Of course. That's... quite a lot of cookies for just the three of you."

Ruby didn't correct Pyrrha's misconception as she sat down facing her and her Aegises, leaving room for Blake and her weapon beside her. They showed up shortly, and Blake sat down next to her.

"Hello, Blake," Pyrrha said.

"Hi."

"Gambol, do you want a cookie?"

Gambol Shroud looked at the table in front of her, then at Blake, shot a quick glance at Pyrrha, and then finally looked at Ruby. "Okay."

Ruby handed her one cookie. She had to reach all the way past Blake to place it on the table as Gambol Shroud didn't move to receive it, keeping her hands on her lap and her eyes lowered. It was generally considered becoming of an Aegis to act demure around Guardians, but Ruby thought Gambol Shroud was carrying it a little too far. Or perhaps she was just too used to the more outgoing weapons she'd grown up around.

"Thank you." Well, at least she was talking to her. Ruby smiled at her, hoping she would at least notice it from the corner of her eye.

"So, fancy seeing you three here."

"Blake was helping me catch up with History classes." Ruby reached for a cookie.

"Oh? That's very nice of you, Blake."

"It wasn't a big deal."

"Evfy... sorry." Ruby washed the cookie down with milk. "Every little bit helps. I really appreciate it. I really didn't know much of anything about the history of the faunus."

"Nobody does. The faunus haven't really been in a position to record history until the last century or so. Anything older comes from human writings, or oral traditions."

"That's the case for all of us, isn't it? It wasn't until the rise of the Kingdoms that we started having reliable historical records. Before then, we were too busy just trying to survive."

"Why does everybody know more about these things than me?"

"We do have two years on you."

"Do you have to keep reminding me?"

"You should be proud of it, Ruby. I have been called a prodigy, but I wasn't invited to this prestigious Acedemy when I was fifteen. Your youth is a mark of distinction."

"I don't want a mark of distinction. I just want normal knees."

"I'm sorry?"

"Never mind." Ruby tried to make herself small and ate another cookie.

"There may be written records out there, somewhere, lost and waiting to be rediscovered. But we still haven't even recovered all the territory lost to the Grimm during the Great War."

"I didn't think you were interested in history, Pyrrha?"

"No? I've always been very proud to carry on the traditions of Argos."

"Argos? I thought you were from Mistral."

"I am. Argos was an independent kingdom before it was conquered and assimilated by Mistral. That was a long time ago, and we are loyal Mistralians now, but we still treasure our regional histories and legends. If you're interested, I could tell you about them, some time."

"Why not now?"

Pyrrha looked at Blake and Ruby. Ruby looked back with an earnest expression.

"Well, why not. But there are so many to choose from, we have such an illustrious history."

"I'm sure you do," Blake said.

"It's going to be the Mother and the Maiden, anyway," Miló said.

"It is my favorite story."

"We know," Akoúo̱ said.

"Story? So this isn't history?"

"This is part of our oral tradition from way back in the beginning. It may be more legend than fact, but you'll have to decide for yourselves."

"Ruby!"

Ruby turned, startled at Crescent's voice. Her Aegis hurried to their table and leaned down against the back of the empty chair next to her. "Oh, hi, Cress. I thought you were with Myrtenaster."

"She went... to check up... with Weiss, in the library," Crescent said, panting. "I thought I'd... come and find you."

"You didn't need to run, you know. We were just having some coffee. Oh, and Pyrrha was about to tell us an old story."

"Hello."

Crescent took the free seat next to Ruby.

"Don't you want anything to drink?"

"I'm fine."

"Do you want a cookie?"

"I could have a kiss."

Ruby felt her cheeks redden; that was a pretty forward request given the company. She couldn't deny her weapon, however, and gave her a quick peck on the lips.

"Anyway," Pyrrha said with vaguely embarrassed air, "shall I begin?"

"Please." Ruby leaned forward on the table, eyes locked on Pyrrha and eager to hear a story about heroes and monsters.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: Miracles of Ancient Wonder**

Crescent Rose walked through the Beacon Academy campus with a worried air, her eyes frequently straying to the dorm building.

"Maybe you should have just gone with Ruby." Myrtenaster was walking beside her as they strolled through the grounds.

"No, no; with Weiss studying in the library, this is the perfect opportunity to spend time with you. And Ruby really needs to spend more time with Blake." Crescent took three steps in silence. "Also, history is boring."

"I didn't realize you liked her spending time with young women without you."

Was Myrtenaster teasing her? "I don't like it, but it has to happen. Besides, I don't think Blake is interested in her. And Gambol Shroud will be there. Nothing's going to happen."

"Of course not. Ruby is very devoted to you."

"Which brings us to our objective: Weiss, and how to make her devoted to you. Let's talk strategy."

"We don't need to discuss strategy. I'm not comfortable with your... meddling."

"I'm not meddling."

"What was that thing about arranging us some 'private time', then?"

"I was just trying to put an idea in Weiss's head. You want that idea there, don't you?"

"Not like that."

"Are you going to confess to her, then?"

"I couldn't."

"Then how do you expect Weiss to ever notice you? You have to do something. What have you been doing all these years?"

"I have dutifully and most attentively seen to all of her needs."

"Not _all_ of her needs."

Myrtenaster blushed. "Crescent Rose!"

"Have you flirted with her?"

"Of course not."

"You should. Myrtenaster, in your fantasies where you two are together, how does it come about?"

Myrtenaster averted her face, still flushed. "Who says I have fantasies like that?"

"Please." Crescent resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Sometimes... sometimes she notices my loyalty and tenderness, and realizes how much I mean to her."

"You said you're also her servant, right? Is that enough to get her to notice you? Does she have other servants?"

"There is the staff, but I'm her only personal maid."

"Well, there's that, at least. Do you think it's enough to set you apart?"

"Clearly it hasn't been. Maybe Miss Weiss simply isn't attracted to girls."

"Seriously, I'm not sure it really matters that much between a Guardian and her Aegis."

"Maybe it didn't to you and Ruby, but it might to Miss Weiss."

"Hmm, maybe. The real problem is that as her servant you are expected to do things for her, so it doesn't come across as a considerate effort. Maybe Weiss will realize just how much above and beyond you've gone if you stop doing that. Just do the minimum that the job requires for a while. Maybe that will get her attention, and make her realize how much you mean to her."

"No, I couldn't do that." Myrtenaster blushed. "I... I like doing things for her, and I wouldn't want to hurt her."

"I figured. What you really need to do is to get Weiss to do something nice for you."

"Isn't that a little backwards?"

"No, I read it in a magazine, it totally works. If you get somebody to do you a favor, they'll like you better. You get a person to give you gifts, they're bound to fall for you."

"Wouldn't they be falling for you anyway, if they're giving you gifts?"

"That's the trick; it's psychology. They wonder why they're treating you, and decide it must be because they like you. Subconsciously, like."

"I don't know; it sounds a little dubious. Even should it work, wouldn't it be a little manipulative?"

"All's fair in love and war, Myrtenaster. We are allowed to be a little tricky when it comes to catching that certain someone."

"Is that how you caught Ruby?"

"Nah, I kinda lucked into it. I wasn't as wise in the ways of love back then."

"Wasn't 'back then' two years ago?"

"What? It was ages ago, I wasn't even in Beacon yet."

"Why am I even considering taking advice from someone two years younger than me?"

"Because I'm dating my Guardian and you are not."

"Touché."

"I would like to keep it simple, I really would, but if you're not going to just let her know how you feel, we need to come up with _something_."

"There must be a better way."

"I'm pretty sure Weiss has put more thought into the idea of dating a girl in the past few weeks than she has in all the years before. Maybe she'll get curious. And who better to experiment with than you?"

"That's not impossible, I suppose. Maybe I could just wait for little longer."

"Of course, there's plenty of girls on the campus that aren't you. If you wait, someone else might snatch her up first. There's all the boys too, if that's more her thing."

"Did you need to bring that up? I really don't like to think of her with a boy."

"What about with a girl?"

"Uh..."

"You're totally blushing." Crescent grinned. "Any girl in particular, and are you also involved?"

"Crescent Rose! I will not entertain this perverted conversation any further."

"You're kinkier than I thought. Maybe there is hope for you yet." Crescent's eyes narrowed. "As long as it isn't Ruby."

Myrtenaster didn't answer immediately, which was enough to alarm Crescent. "It isn't Ruby, is it?"

"I already said I won't talk about that. It's all in your head, anyway." Myrtenaster looked at her. "Look, Ruby is your girlfriend, and since you are my sister Aegis that means she's off limits."

"Yeah. Yeah, I know, you wouldn't do that to me. And she wouldn't either. I get a little worked up, sometimes, but Ruby's so... you know. She gets a lot of attention. She pays attention, too."

"There's a great number of pretty girls here. I like to to look, too, but that doesn't make me any less devoted to Miss Weiss. You know she's not the type to stray."

"I do. It's just that until we came here, I had her all to myself. I just can't help thinking that if she hangs out more with other people, maybe she'll find one she likes better than me."

Crescent's scroll beeped, and she looked at the message. "Oh, it's from Ruby. She's done with the tutoring already and..." Her eyes widened. "I need to go."

"What happened to the girl talk? We barely got started."

"I know, I'm sorry, but she is going for coffee with Blake."

"So?"

"She doesn't even drink coffee!" Crescent turned towards the cafeteria.

Myrtenaster sighed. "I guess I'll go meet Weiss in the library, then."

"Great!" Crescent didn't look behind her as she rushed away.

* * *

Crescent settled down next to blushing Ruby to listen to Pyrrha's tale, feeling a little guilty. She hadn't meant to embarrass Ruby, just to remind the other girls at the table that she was spoken for.

"My ancestors settled on the southern shore of Anima long ago, on a cape of rolling hills cut off from the rest of the continent by a range of mountains."

"That sounds like a defensible location," Ruby said.

"It was, and many tales are told of brave heroes who defended the passes. There they eventually founded the city state of Argos, where they farmed the hills and fished the seas. They became adept seafarers, and for a long time Argos was one of the major ports on Remnant. It is still in use, but these days airships have taken on much of the business, and the ports on the western and northern shores of Anima see most of the remaining shipping."

"That's understandable, they are closer to Vale and Mantle, and no-one wants to risk a long sea journey if they can avoid it. But I've understood that Argos still has regular traffic with Menagerie, which doesn't have a fleet of airships."

"That's true! Not many people know that. I didn't know you were so well acquainted with my homeland, Blake."

"Blake knows a lot about Menagerie and the faunus."

"That might be even rarer. Where did you learn all that?"

"I've read a lot of books. Please, just continue your story."

"Where was I? Oh, yes. But all that became later. When my ancestors first settled the land, they didn't know about farming, or fishing, or seafaring. Those were all things they learned from the Mother. Well, she probably wasn't known as Mother then, since she didn't have a child yet. She might have originally been called the Benefactress."

"She taught them all that? Where did she learn them from?"

"The ancient Argosseans were like many other people: a ragtag group of desperate women and men who wandered the continent, hunting and foraging, and trying to evade the Creatures of Grimm. Finding the sheltered cape was a welcome break, even though they were too few in number to really secure it at first. They settled in, but as their numbers grew, they begun to exhaust the available food. The hunters had to venture further and further out beyond the passes, and they didn't always return. It seemed like the shelter of the hills had been only a temporary haven for them, and they would have to move on once more."

"This is a suspiciously neat story, given they probably weren't even literate back then."

"Shh, Blake." Ruby said. She looked enraptured, hopefully by the story and not the storyteller.

"This is all oral tradition, but surely life was the same for people all over Remnant. It was in this hour of need that Mother came to them."

"Convenient."

"I would not be here now if it hadn't happened. By all accounts she was a striking woman, tall, regal, of indeterminate age. There was kindness in her face and wisdom in her eyes. She taught the Argosseans how to farm the land and fish the waters surrounding the cape. She taught them how to weave and how to build and sail boats."

"She sounds like she was pretty amazing, huh?"

"This is not history, this is a legend. Many people over the Remnant have similar origin stories."

"Even legends have an element of truth in them. There are too many stories of the miracles of ancient wonder to just dismiss them all. Perhaps Goddesses, too, once walked on Remnant. Anyway, thanks to the Mother's teachings, my ancestors flourished on the hills, and they knew peace and prosperity, for the first time in their history. But it couldn't last forever."

"The Grimm."

"The Grimm. Over time they were attracted to the settlement in ever growing numbers, and their assaults became more frequent and fierce. The people of Argos reeled before them. The Mother knew that her arts weren't what the people now needed, and so she gave them her last and greatest gift: the Maiden."

"Was she, like, her daughter?"

"Yes, born from her alone, without a father, and as a fully formed adult."

Ruby glanced at Blake, and her silence was eloquent. That did sound a little far-fetched to Crescent, too; unless maybe this Mother really was a Goddess of some kind. Or had a really weird Semblance.

"The Maiden was tall, beautiful, and strong. She always went armed and armored, and while she wasn't without kindness, she was a woman of war. She taught my ancestors how to raise defenses, how to forge weapons and armor, and how to best use them to fight the Creatures of Grimm." Pyrrha wasn't looking at the people around the table as she delivered her rhapsody. She looked above them, a dreaming look in her eyes fixed on infinity.

"Sounds like you're quite the fan."

Pyrrha blushed. "I have tried to emulate the Maiden to the best of my abilities."

"Apart from the 'maiden' part," Miló said, causing Pyrrha's blush to deepen.

"Well, there's no point in being _too_ literal. Besides, she had her female companions, and the stories suggest one of them was a very close companion indeed." Pyrrha glanced at Akoúo̱. "But in those days they thought you needed to sleep with a man to lose your maidenhood."

"Oh, hey, Ruby, by that standard you are still a maiden," Crescent said.

Ruby tried to sink into her chair. Crescent felt a little bad about embarrassing her like this in public, but she felt it was important to establish that Ruby was very taken. Blake and Pyrrha were both very attractive young women, and she suspected Pyrrha, at least, might have an interest in Ruby. She might have to re-evaluate Blake, too, given she'd asked Ruby for coffee.

"And a bright-eyed maiden, too. That's what they called her, in the old epics."

"So, uh, this Maiden had companions?"

"Yes, she collected a group of female warriors around her, and taught them her skills. Some say they were the very first Huntresses."

"Pyrrha, the Huntresses and Huntsmen aren't even a century old."

"They could be a revival of an earlier tradition. There have been champions throughout the ages."

"I doubt that anyone involved with the founding on the Academies would have been familiar with any such _hypothetical_ ancient tradition. A bit before their time, don't you think?"

"Shh, Blake, let Pyrrha continue." Ruby clearly was enjoying the tale.

"There were other guards and warriors who learned the arts of war from the Maiden, but the women who followed her were the best and the brightest, the bravest and the boldest. They were the ones the Maiden taught her most secret techniques to, and marked as her own. But none of them could match the Maiden herself in valor or skill. She could face scores of Grimm on her own, and fell them with but a single stroke."

Crescent suspected Pyrrha was quoting parts of some old tale; she didn't usually use such language. "What's the big deal? I mean you guys can do that too, right?"

"Facing those kinds of odds is hard enough for a seasoned Huntress. I wouldn't want to fight Grimm in numbers, not on my own."

"But Ruby does it all the time."

"Patch mostly just has young Beowolves, Cress. These were probably tough old giants."

"Probably... Ruby, do you actually fight scores of Beowolves on your own?"

"Sometimes? I usually hunted them with my uncle or my sister, though."

"Yang told me about it, but I must admit I found it hard to believe. Just how many have you killed?"

"Some hundreds? Probably? It gets a little hard to keep a count when they vanish. But the most I've fought at one time was only like fifty or something."

"What."

"You aren't serious."

Ruby looked around the table at the people gaping at her. "What? Isn't that what we do here? Fight monsters?"

"Once we graduate. I'm not sure I've killed fifty Grimm yet."

"What? Get out of here, Pyrrha. You're like the biggest badass in the Academy."

"Suddenly I'm not so sure I am. I've done well in tournaments, but I didn't fight many Grimm in those."

"I'm sure I've killed hundreds of them, over the years; you have to, out in the wilderness. But that was with a partner or a team, and usually only few at a time."

"My training focused mostly on fighting other people."

"How are you going to learn to kill Grimm except by doing it?"

"By training in a Huntsman Academy, usually. That's what Professor Port's class is about. The primary combat schools are for learning the basics of combat. I don't think many of them do Grimm-killing excursions."

"Well, uncle Qrow believed in hands-on training."

"Clearly."

"Going out with an experienced Huntsman is fine and good, but you really shouldn't be doing that alone."

"Please, Huntsmen like my dad and uncle sweep Patch every now and then, there's rarely anything there except runty Beowolves; maybe the occasional Ursa. And with my Semblance I can always run if it gets too much."

"As long as you haven't exhausted yourself, or got yourself surrounded or ambushed."

"I'm not reckless, guys, I fight them on open ground with good sightlines when I can."

"How do you even fight fifty Beowolves at once? I'm not sure I could kill them fast enough."

"I've been trying to picture it myself; it would be quite a workout."

"I've got my secret weapon." Ruby pulled Crescent into a hug, which suited her just fine. "I designed her form specifically to killing Grimm. Her blade is sharp and heavy enough to cleave right through a Grimm with enough momentum to move on to the next one. And she's high enough caliber that against young Grimm it's one shot, one kill." Ruby singing her praises felt nice, too.

"I suppose that would help." Blake glanced at Gambol Shroud. "We couldn't even scratch that Nevermore, and you just sliced right through its neck."

"Well, I was going one way, and gravity was pulling it another. I figured we would get it done with that leverage."

"You most certainly did."

"It would have been a fight worthy of an epic in the old days. It's not every day a Grimm that old gets killed."

"It's not that big of a deal... and anyway, we got sidetracked from the story."

"Where was I, anyway?"

"The Maiden's chosen warriors."

"I want to hear more about the really close companion," Crescent said.

"I was actually coming to her next. Out of all of her huntresses, there was one she was closest to; she was the most skilled and the most beautiful out of them all."

"Of course she was."

"She was the Maiden's constant companion. They fought side by side in countless battles, and spent the time in between together. But one day, she was mortally wounded in a fight against a Grimm, and so it came to be that she lay dying in the Maiden's arms. The Maiden had become very attached to her, and she didn't want to lose her."

"Of course she wouldn't!"

"So I guess she didn't have any convenient healing powers, huh?"

"Shh, Blake."

"Before her soul fled her body, the Maiden transformed her into a piece of armor so she'd always be there to protect her, and their souls would forever be joined. And that, they say, is how Aegises came to be."

"Pyrrha, literally every culture has a myth about the origins of Aegises."

"Yes, well, that one is ours. I've always found it very moving."

"It is; it's a lot better than the one I'd heard before. Especially with, you know, all the women."

Crescent happily hugged Ruby. She very much wanted to believe this story was true, and that Aegises had come into being because of a Goddess' love for her female companion. She had always felt that what she and Ruby shared was right, and exactly what the relationship between a Guardian and an Aegis should be, and this story validated her feelings completely.

Were there more stories like this? Maybe she should pay more attention to history, after all.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: On The Town**

Weiss scrutinized her reflection in the mirror. Her combat skirt—a dress, really, but it was a term of art—and bolero jacket were flawless and the fit was perfect as always. Her carefully off-center ponytail was neat and smooth, and her light make-up was precisely applied. The only imperfection on her person was the narrow scar over her left eye, but that wasn't something she would fix even if she could. Weiss nodded decisively at the girl in the mirror. She had managed just fine without Myrtenaster fussing over her. She had been right to send her ahead. Now she just needed to collect Ruby and catch the airship to the city, provided her dolt of a partner was ready.

Weiss stepped from the bathroom and froze in the doorway. Ruby was not ready. She was in the process of pulling a combat bra over her head. Weiss noted that the muscles on her back, shoulders, and arms, emphasized by the pose, were surprisingly well developed, given her age and stature.

For a moment Weiss studied the areas usually covered by a school uniform or combat attire. Moving down from her shoulders and back, Ruby's waist was narrow and it flared out into girlish hips no more rounded than Weiss's own. Her legs were long and slender, yet shapely with muscle. They reminded Weiss of the dancers whose trained physiques she had admired in the performances her parents had taken her to. Ruby's round but firm behind was also in the same mold. Weiss watched in fascination as the muscles shifted under Ruby's black panties.

It took her a second too long to process the significance of that movement. Ruby was turning around, probably in response to Weiss opening the door. Weiss realized her eyes weren't where they should be, and she swept her gaze back up. In the passing she saw Ruby's defined abdominal muscles, first in profile and then straight on. They weren't the kind you could grate cheese on, like she had seen on some guys; they rather looked soft, but they were undeniably there. Weiss didn't have much body fat, but she didn't have abs like that. She briefly wondered how it would feel to run her fingers along them before suppressing the strange thought. Weiss's eyes glided over Ruby's breasts, with barely a twinge of envy at the fact that they were substantial enough to require a sturdy combat bra, and finally found Ruby's big silver eyes.

"Weiss?"

"What are you doing?"

"Uh, I'm changing? I know I'm late, I'm sorry, but I was putting my things away and I lost the track of time and I know we have an airship to catch and—"

"No, I mean why are you half-naked in our room."

"Would you prefer I was half-naked out in the corridor?"

"No! That's not what I meant. Don't you think... don't you think..." Ruby was staring at her with a puzzled expression. She was still dressed in nothing but her underwear, and Weiss had difficulty deciding where to train her eyes. She knew she must have been blushing. "As a girl you should act more demurely."

"There's no-one here but us. It's fine."

"I don't need to see you in your underwear."

"What's the problem? We're both girls."

"You like girls!" One girl, at any rate. Did it make a difference that Crescent Rose was her Aegis?

"I can understand why you might not feel comfortable changing in front of me, but I'm the one changing here, and I don't mind. It's not like you like girls, and it wouldn't really bother me even if you did." Ruby sat on her bed to pull on her stockings, presumably to taunt her. "Or do you? Like girls, I mean. I just realized I don't actually know."

"N-no, of course not." Weiss was upset with herself for letting Ruby and her annoyingly shapely legs distract her. "That's not the point. The point is that you shouldn't be changing in front of me."

"If it bothers you that much, can't you just turn around?"

Why was Weiss still standing here looking at Ruby as she was putting her clothes on? Because Ruby couldn't dictate what she could or could not do in their shared room. Weiss stomped her foot. "That's not the issue here. The issue is your conduct."

"My conduct? I'm just changing clothes. It's a perfectly normal thing that people do every day. I don't know how things were back at your manor, but you must have seen a lot of people change in the locker room by now. I don't understand why you're making such a big deal out of it."

"This isn't the locker room. This is our bedroom... uh, our shared dorm room. You need to show some consideration to other people."

"Doesn't that go both ways? You're the one who's being weird here."

Weiss was a Schnee, and thus never sputtered. "I'm weird?"

"Yes. It was never an issue with Yang, Cress, Ember, or Celica. Or any of the girls at Signal. Even Myrtenaster hasn't complained. It's literally just you. Changing around other girls is perfectly normal, Weiss; you're the one with strange hang-ups."

Myrtenaster had seen Ruby naked? Weiss shook her head; that wasn't the issue here. Did Ruby actually have a point? Weiss had already found that life at Beacon Academy was very different from life at Schnee Manor. It was mostly an improvement, but she had needed to make some adjustments to her mindset. She still wasn't comfortable using the locker room and showers at the gym, and preferred to use the one in their room when possible. In a way this room was her sanctuary when she needed privacy, and Ruby was intruding on it.

Well, strictly speaking, she was currently the one intruding on Ruby's privacy. At least in the locker room nobody got in her face in the way she was doing to Ruby. Weiss blushed as she realized she was being rude. She took a step back and turned away.

"Just—just finish dressing so we can get moving. For someone so fast, you sure waste a lot of time."

"Yeah, sorry."

Weiss focused on her desk as Ruby finished dressing. It didn't take all that long, but time seemed to crawl since she had nothing to do but reread the covers of her textbooks while accompanied by the sounds of struggling and the swish of fabric.

"Help cinch me up?"

"If I have to." Weiss helped Ruby tighten her waist cincher, which was clearly just for show; Ruby's stomach felt just as hard and flat as it had looked. "I'm only doing this so we can finally get going, don't expect me to make a habit of it."

"I can do it on my own, you know. And Cress is happy enough to help me."

"I bet. Can we go now, or have you forgotten something else?"

"Nope. Let's go already." Ruby grabbed Weiss's hand and dragged her to the door.

Weiss found herself blushing at the unexpected contact. "Hey! I can walk by myself."

Ruby opened the door and pushed Weiss through. "You're the one who complained about lost time."

"That doesn't mean you need to manhandle me."

"I'm not manhandling you, it's more like girlhandling."

"Very funny." Weiss stepped to the opposite door and knocked. "Are you guys still in there?"

"They're gone already. We're the ones who are late."

"You're the one who was late. I was just making sure."

Ruby pulled out her scroll and typed something on it as they walked through the corridor. Weiss pulled out hers at the notification of a message received. Ruby had asked for Yang and Blake's whereabouts on the team chat, and presently Yang confirmed they were almost at the airship dock.

"I'm surprised that brute can be punctual. I guess Blake is a good influence."

"More likely Yang had to drag Blake away from the library. She didn't seem so thrilled at the outing."

"It's good to get among civilization once in a while; not to mention that going as a group is an excellent team-building activity."

"I should have thought of that."

"So you should have. Lucky for you, your partner has your back."

"I appreciate that." Ruby smiled at her. "I couldn't ask for a better partner."

"Of course not," Weiss said with a small smirk. "There's only one of me." Weiss wasn't sure why she was feeling so expansive, but she decided to embrace the moment.

"And you're so modest, too."

"I am modest. I'm just not falsely modest."

"You're really excited about this excursion, aren't you?"

Yes, that might have been the reason for her light mood. "Excursion? I didn't expect you to be able to use such a big word correctly."

"Oh, come on, give me at least a little credit."

"I do. Very little."

"You're a meanie."

"Now that seems more in line with your vocabulary." Weiss gave Ruby a little smile to take the sting out of her comment; it was just intended to be friendly banter. "Dolt."

* * *

Weiss and Ruby met the rest of the team at the docks. They still had plenty of time to board the airship; Weiss, knowing her team, had allowed for delays in her plans. Myrtenaster and Crescent Rose stood a little to the side from others, and were engaged in discreet conversation. Weiss narrowed her eyes. She wasn't sure Crescent was a good influence on her weapon.

The girls soon noticed their arrival, and moved to greet them. Crescent rushed to embrace Ruby while Myrtenaster approached Weiss much more decorously. Weiss's eyes lingered on Ruby and Crescent for a little longer than was strictly courteous before she averted them. She experienced a strange pang of jealousy. She wouldn't have minded a greeting like that. Not from Crescent, obviously, or any other girl for that matter, but maybe from a boyfriend—definitely from a boyfriend.

"Come on, people, let's board already."

"Relax, Weiss, we still have plenty of time."

Weiss ignored Yang and walked right past her and into the airship. The rest of the team followed in her wake. "Now, I trust everybody has familiarized themselves with the itinerary."

"I can't believe you drew up an itinerary for an evening on the town."

"How else are we going to use our time effectively? There's so much to see with the preparations for the Vytal Festival. It is a festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dances and parades—and the tournament, of course. The amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking." Weiss turned around—not twirled—to face her team as she walked.

"I wouldn't have thought anyone could manage to make it all sound boring. Congratulations."

"Quiet, you. Have you consulted the itinerary?"

"Nope."

"An itinerary seems a tad overblown."

"I read it," Ruby said. "Only, why are we going to the harbor?"

"I heard a rumor that the contestants from Vacuo will be arriving by ship this evening. Clearly, as representatives of this prestigious Academy it is our solemn duty to welcome them to this fine kingdom."

"She wants to spy on them to gain an edge in the tournament."

"You can't prove that."

"Oh, please, you already dragged me with you to spy on Team JNPR."

"And if we'd done that before the fight, maybe we wouldn't have lost."

"Are you still hung up on that?"

"We were lucky they even let us into the tournament after that disaster. I would like us to do better there, that's all."

"We will, Weiss. We didn't lose because we hadn't scouted JNPR out, we lost because we didn't work well as a team. We're much better now."

"You can bet that the teams that are traveling all this way to participate will not be lacking. Every little bit helps."

There was a shudder as the airship took off to begin the trip towards the city.

"We'll be ready, Weiss. Okay team, let's... uh..."

"Ride the airship? We can probably manage that, Rubes."

"That's not what I was going to say. Let's get this team trip started."

* * *

"It smells like fish."

"Yeah, this isn't really the most fun way to spend an evening."

"Quit complaining and see if we can find out where the ship is going to dock."

"Whoa."

Ruby's exclamation drew Weiss's attention, and she followed her gaze towards a shopfront with a broken door and a window that was cordoned off with police tape.

"What happened there?"

"Let's go find out."

There were two plainclothes officers at the scene, and Ruby walked up to them. Huntresses and Huntsmen regularly assisted the police, and were generally on friendly terms with them. Team RWBY were only students, of course, but the policemen proved willing to talk to them all the same.

"Two Dust shops hit within the week and the money left behind? He was right: that doesn't make any sense," Yang said as the team resumed their walk along the piers.

"That's true. Sure, Dust is valuable, but so's Lien. Why leave that behind?"

"Because it's Dust they're after. But what would they need that much Dust for? What could they do with it?"

"Blow something up. Or supply an army. The cops might have been right, it does sound like it could be the White Fang."

"The White Fang." Weiss didn't even try to hide the loathing in her voice. "What an awful bunch of degenerates."

"What's your problem?" Blake said.

"My problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane."

It was a little flippant of Weiss, but this wasn't the time or the place to go into her hatred of the murderous group. She noted that their Aegises had dropped back as the discussion had turned to Huntress business. It was understandable, but she could have used moral support from Myrtenaster.

"The White Fang is hardly a bunch of psychopaths," Blake said. "They're a collection of misguided faunus."

"Misguided? They want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet."

"Then they're _very_ misguided. It still doesn't explain why they would rob a Dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale."

"Blake's got a point. The police never caught that Torchwick guy I tangled with. Maybe it was him. I'm pretty sure he wasn't a faunus."

"Yeah, but that's still a lot of Dust. The White Fang is the only criminal organization I can think of that could need that much. Plus I hear they have it in for Dust corporations." Yang turned to Blake. "Come on, Blake. You know that. Why do you think they aren't involved?"

"That was just a local Dust shop, it's hardly a prime target compared to oppressive organizations like the SDC. Besides, like Ruby said, Torchwick's a human, and the White Fang doesn't work with humans. There could be other groups out there who can't just buy the Dust they need. It doesn't all need to be going to the same place. Maybe Torchwick's trying to corner the market as a supplier to gangs."

"Hmm, maybe."

"That doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum. Those faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal."

"Oh, come on, Weiss. They're not necessarily all like that. And they certainly aren't representative of the faunus as a whole."

"Stop that no-good faunus stowaway!"

The shout from a moored cargo ship alerted the team to the unfolding spectacle. A blond faunus boy who appeared to be close to their age effected an acrobatic getaway from the ship and made monkeys out of the pair of police officers in the process. He ran past the group as he made his escape, turning to wink at them, the cheeky ruffian.

"You were saying, Yang?"

"There's always going to be one bad banana in the bunch. Hey, Blake—Blake?"

Weiss turned to look at Blake, who seemed to be staring after the rapidly receding monkey faunus.

"I'm sorry, Yang, what did you say?"

"Hey, if you're into cute blondes with killer abs, you don't need to get them from overseas."

Yang indicated her own set, displayed by her midriff-baring jacket, which admittedly were even more impressive than Ruby's. Then again, Yang was generally more developed than Ruby, and for all her lean muscle she seemed to have no shortage of fatty tissue in her chest area. Genetics could be cruel and capricious, Weiss decided.

"Idiot." Blake punched Yang in the arm. "Do you think he's here for the tournament?"

"Well, the timing would fit, and he clearly has training. Why, are you hoping to see him again?"

"While he did have a certain Vacuo air, their students don't need to stow away on a cargo ship. There is an actual passenger ship coming in." Weiss resumed their walk, interrupted by the incident, and the rest of the team followed her lead. "Which we are yet to find."

"I'm surprised you let him go. Even if he isn't here for the tournament, you could have spied on him to find out if he's involved in some nefarious faunus plot."

"Ha, ha, very funny, Yang. He's clearly a vagabond and a ne'er-do-well, but I doubt he has the mental capability to be up to any great schemes. If you ask me—"

"Miss, look out."

Weiss was turned towards Yang and wasn't looking where she was walking, and Myrtenaster's warning came too late. Weiss collided with something very solid. When she recovered the use of her faculties, she found herself lying on top of an orange-haired girl who was giving her a very disconcerting smile.

"Salutations!"


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: Girls talk about their social lives**

Myrtenaster closed the dorm room door behind her and turned towards Crescent Rose who was looking at her excitedly. "I really would have preferred to stay and help Weiss get ready."

"I bet you would have." Crescent waggled her eyebrows at Myrtenaster, then sobered. "She's the one who sent you away, and just as well; with all the work we put in your appearance, it'd be a shame to risk you messing it up."

"She didn't even notice." Maybe she should have put her hair down as Crescent had suggested.

"She didn't comment on it, it doesn't mean she didn't notice."

"Ruby complimented you."

"I'm her girlfriend, so she has to. Maybe Weiss thinks she has to pretend not to notice how lovely you look."

Myrtenaster knew Crescent was just trying to make her feel better, but she found herself hoping she was right. "I didn't do anything too special."

"You put in extra effort, and it ought to be appreciated. Now: let's review our plans for the evening."

"I take it you aren't referring to the itinerary."

"No, of course not. An evening out on the town is the perfect opportunity to make some progress with Weiss."

"Crescent..."

"I'll try to arrange an opportunity for you to be alone with her. It'd really be easier if you let me bring Em and Cel in."

"No! They can't know."

"They can probably figure it out themselves, you know, with all the forlorn sighs and longing gazes."

"I don't do those things!" Myrtenaster was pretty sure she wasn't that obvious.

"It's no good lying to yourself. Once you're alone together, you need to suggest something romantic for you two to do."

"Crescent! I can't just, just..."

"Tell her how you feel? Don't I know it. Look, you don't need to announce your intentions, as long as you end up doing something that sets the right mood. Then you just need to make sure she has a good time."

"I'm not sure I can do that."

"Of course you can. Just have fun, the both of you! It's not rocket science. And remember: ideally, you want to get her to buy you a gift."

"She is expected to provide for me. I could ask her to buy me some stationary, or something."

"Auugh, you are both so hopeless." Crescent threw her head back with her hands at her temples. "It needs to be something romantic, not something practical."

"Can't it be both?"

"No. Focus, Myrtenaster. We need to frame the evening so that when Weiss looks back on it, it'll feel like a date. After a few times like that, even she should start figuring it out."

"And what if she doesn't want to date me?"

"What if she does? You can't go in with a negative outlook. Repeat after me: 'I will make Weiss notice me.'"

"Crescent..."

"You do want that, don't you? It's not going to happen if you won't make an effort. Now, repeat it."

"I will make Weiss notice me."

"Great! Just maintain that attitude. It'll be fine, you'll see."

* * *

Myrtenaster kept looking at Weiss as she trailed the team with the other Aegises. The evening was not off to a great start. She had barely exchanged a word with Weiss, and while the waterfront could theoretically be considered romantic, the smell didn't do it any favors. True, there was plenty of time left, but this was a team outing, and Weiss's itinerary didn't really leave too many opportunities to be alone with her.

The talk of the White Fang hadn't helped. Any mention of the terrorist group plaguing Schnee Dust Corporation was likely to sour Weiss's mood for the rest of the day. Weiss didn't seem too upset this time, at least on the surface, and Myrtenaster hoped the festival preparations would help take her mind off the subject. Still, the evening as an opportunity to advance her relationship with Weiss was likely ruined.

Maybe her idea had been better, in any case. She could ask Weiss to go to town with her on the pretext of picking up supplies, and once they were there, she could try to steer them into some more date-like activities. Why should she blindly follow love advice from a girl two years her junior, anyway?

Because she had not gotten any closer to Weiss in the three years they'd been together, and Crescent and Ruby were romantically involved. She hadn't missed the kiss they'd shared at the airship dock. She would have been only too happy if Weiss had kissed her like that. Or Ruby.

Myrtenaster blushed and wondered if there was something wrong with her. She was in love with Weiss, yet she kept fantasizing about Weiss and Ruby together. Sometimes she was involved, too. She really needed to stop thinking about that, because it was wicked, and unfair to Crescent, and it made her tingly in very inconvenient places.

Myrtenaster was pulled from her thoughts by a very welcome interruption. Weiss, distracted by her argument with Yang, was about to walk into a strange girl. "Miss, look out!"

Her warning came too late. Weiss collided with the orange-haired girl, and both of them lost their balance. After a brief moment of somewhat undignified flailing the two of them ended sprawled on the ground, with Weiss lying on top of the cute stranger, their faces mere inches apart. Suddenly the tingling was back.

"Salutations!" the girl saluted.

Weiss recoiled and scrambled back up with a cute little startled yelp. Myrtenaster supposed the girl had been a little loud.

"Um. Hello," Ruby said.

"Are you... okay?" Yang asked.

"I'm wonderful. Thank you for asking." The strange girl still didn't get up.

"Do you... wanna get up?" Yang ventured.

The girl seemed to consider the question for a second, then nodded decisively. "Yes." She sprung to her feet in one athletic motion. "My name is Penny, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Penny had short, curled, orange hair, and wore a pink bow on the back of her head. Her eyes were a vivid green, and there was a collection of freckles on her fair cheeks. She wore a light gray blouse, short gray overall dress with green highlights, long black and green stockings, and a matching collar.

"Hi, Penny. I'm Ruby, and that's Crescent."

"I'm Weiss; this is Myrtenaster."

Myrtenaster stepped up to Weiss's side and curtsied as she was introduced.

"Blake. Gambol Shroud."

"Are you sure you didn't hit your head?"

Blake promptly swatted Yang on the arm without even a change in her expression or posture. It was such a girlfriend move that Myrtenaster had to wonder what sort of a relationship the two partners had, and how they would look locked in a passionate embrace.

"Oh, I'm Yang, and these guys are Ember and Celica."

"It's a pleasure to meet you."

"You already said that."

Penny again paused for a fraction of a second, as if to evaluate Weiss's statement. "So I did." She didn't offer anything more, staring at the group with a slightly vacant expression.

"Well, sorry for running into you," Weiss said, and turned away.

The rest of the group followed. It was maybe a little rude, but there was something unsettling about Penny, and they did have an itinerary to follow, after all.

Ruby waved her hand in parting. "Take care, friend."

"She was... weird," Yang said once they were out of hearing. It was a little harsh, but not inaccurate.

Penny was standing right in front of them. "What did you call me?"

Myrtenaster didn't know how Penny had managed to overtake them, and Weiss also looked confused, even shocked. They hadn't been walking too fast, of course, and someone like Ruby could have done it quite easily, but Penny had appeared out of nowhere and didn't even show any signs of exertion.

"Oh, I'm really sorry, I definitely didn't think you heard me." Yang's apology left a lot to be desired, and Myrtenaster half expected Blake to slap her again.

"No, not you." Penny walked through the group to stand in front of Ruby, who leaned away. "You."

"Me? I don't know I, what I... ah..."

"You called me friend. Am I really your friend?" There was wonder in Penny's eyes.

"Umm..."

Ruby looked to her teammates for support, or maybe advice. They indicated quite emphatically that Ruby should answer 'no'. Myrtenaster couldn't really blame them. Ruby answered 'yes', and Myrtenaster couldn't find it in her heart to blame her, either.

"Sensational." Penny laughed in delight and threw her hands up in celebration. "I've never had a friend before. I'm so excited! We can do girl stuff like trying on clothes and talking about cute boys."

"Yeah, sorry, but my sister isn't really into either of those things. So, Penny, what are you doing in Vale?"

"I'm here to fight in the tournament."

"Ooh, really? Why didn't you say so in the first place, that's much more interesting than clothes or boys." Ruby took Penny's hands in hers. "So, where's your Aegis? I wanna meet them."

"I don't have one."

"You don't? Even though you qualified for the tournament?" It seemed like a fair question. As far as Myrtenaster knew, practically all the top students at the Academies fought with Aegises.

"I don't need an Aegis. I am combat ready." Penny emphasized the statement with an exaggerated salute.

"Yes, I'm sure you are. Are you from Vacuo?"

"No, I'm from Atlas."

"Really?" Weiss glanced at Myrtenaster. "I was under the impression that the Atlas students wouldn't be arriving for another couple of days."

That was also what Myrtenaster had heard from her peers in Atlas Academy.

"I came here early with my father, to see some sights."

"What are the odds of running into a stray tournament contestant?"

"You tell me, Weiss; you're the one who ran into her."

"Quiet, Yang. Penny, do you know if that monkey-tailed rapscallion was also a contestant?"

"Who?"

"The filthy faunus from the boat. Do you know him?"

"Why do you keep saying things like that?" Blake looked angry.

"Huh?"

"Stop calling him a rapscallion, or a degenerate. He's a person."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Would you like me to stop referring to this trashcan as a trashcan? Or this lamppost as a lamppost?"

"Stop it."

"Stop what? He clearly broke the law. Given time, he'll probably join those other faunus in the White Fang."

"You ignorant little brat!"

Blake turned and walked away, clearly upset, but Weiss wasn't done with her yet and followed her.

"How dare you talk to me like that. I'm your teammate."

"You are a judgmental little girl."

"What in the world makes you say that?"

Myrtenaster glanced around her. The group was looking awkwardly at each other as Weiss and Blake got into it. Once Weiss got started ranting on the subject of the White Fang, she wasn't easily stopped. Blake clearly had some faunus sympathies and didn't look like she was going to back down. It was a little surprising, considering how quiet she usually was. Myrtenaster was just glad that there weren't any bystanders around to witness their quarrel, apart from Penny, who was watching the pair with curiosity and confusion.

"Uh, guys, should we maybe get in between them?" Yang said.

"I bet Ruby wouldn't mind," Celica said. Crescent gave her a dirty look.

"I'm afraid Miss Weiss is unlikely to calm down soon."

Myrtenaster turned towards Gambol Shroud to get her input on Blake and saw she was hiding behind Ember and Celica, looking worried and uncertain. Ruby followed her gaze.

"This isn't like Blake, is it?"

Gambol Shroud shook her head.

"It's always the quiet ones, huh?" Yang said. "I think this has been building for a while. I guess there was only so much of Ice Queen's bigotry Blake could take."

"Weiss isn't usually like that." Ruby coming to her partner's defense warmed Myrtenaster's heart.

"What, judgmental, dismissive, and sure she's right?"

"When you put it like that..."

"Maybe it's actually good to let them have it out. Clear the air, you know?"

"You think so?"

"Yeah." Yang didn't look too certain about herself. "Pretty sure."

"Still, maybe they should do it somewhere more private?"

"Do you think they'd shut up until we get them back to the dorms?" Yang looked at the quarreling pair and the rest of the group followed her example. "Yeah, that ain't happening. Maybe we can nudge them further along the pier?"

"Voice carries over the water, doesn't it?"

"Do you have a better suggestion?"

"...Let's go nudging."

* * *

Myrtenaster watched as the argument continued. She wanted to support Weiss, but didn't feel like it was her place to inject herself into it. She stood so she was visible to Weiss, hoping that her presence would be at least a little comfort to her Guardian. Ruby had finally managed to persuade Penny to leave, so there were no witnesses to their little domestic dispute, though people passing by on the shore cast them some curious glances from time to time.

"I don't understand why this is causing such a problem."

"That _is_ the problem."

"You realize you are defending an organization that hates humanity, don't you? The faunus of the White Fang are pure evil."

"Pure evil? You make them sound like Creatures of Grimm. Do you really think they hate humanity for no reason at all? It's people like you that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures."

"People like me?"

"You're discriminatory."

"I'm a victim!" Weiss's outburst was followed by a silence. She continued in a more quiet voice. "Do you know why I despise the White Fang, why I don't particularly trust the faunus? It's because they've been at war, actual war, with my family for years. My grandfather's company has had a target painted on its back for as long as I can remember. Ever since I was a child I've watched family friends disappear; board members executed. Every day my father would come home furious, and that made for a very—difficult—childhood." There was controlled fury in Weiss's voice. "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? It's because they are a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!" With every item on the list Weiss took a step closer to Blake.

Blake didn't back down; she leaned into Weiss's face with her eyes narrowed. "Well, maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!"

Everybody froze as the import of Blake's angry words started to sink in. Blake's eyes widened as she looked at the group in panic. The tableau was broken when Blake rushed towards them, and Myrtenaster shrunk back instinctively before she realized Blake was reaching for Gambol Shroud. Blake took her hands, and the two of them seemed to freeze in place, before suddenly shattering, signaling that Blake had used her Semblance. Myrtenaster turned to see Blake running along the pier, Gambol Shroud already transformed into her weapon form.

Ruby rushed after her. "No, Blake, wait, come back!" She stopped after a few paces. Nobody could outrun Ruby; maybe their leader just realized she didn't know what to do if she did catch Blake. Myrtenaster could relate to that.

"Did she just say what I thought she did?"

"Yes, Yang, even you should be able to work out she just admitted to being—"

"Okay, okay. There's no need to shout it out aloud."

"Why not? She's—"

"Still our teammate, Weiss," Ruby said. "I'm sure there's an explanation."

"If she could explain it, she wouldn't have run. Innocent people don't run."

"So do you want to call the cops on her?"

Weiss looked at her remaining teammates' faces. "Well... no, she's still our... responsibility. We'll find her ourselves."

"And then we'll hear her out, right?"

"We can hear her out, but I don't think you'll like what she'll have to say. And once she's said her piece, we will need to do something. At the very least Beacon's leadership needs to know what sort of people they let in."

"And what sort of people do you mean?"

"Terrorists, obviously. You don't think I'm bigoted against all faunus, do you?"

"Well, given the way you talk..."

"I was talking about the White Fang, the murderous terrorist organization."

"With the side order of suspecting any faunus might be or might become a member."

"Well, I wasn't exactly wrong, was I?"

"We don't what Blake is, Weiss. For all we know Ozpin knows her situation and it's not as bad as we think. Maybe she's, like, a former supporter or something."

"She spoke as one of the—them."

"Guys, talking about it among ourselves isn't going to solve anything. We don't know anything for sure, and we won't until we find her."

"Okay, let's get looking."

"Hold on, Yang. Are we just going to run down streets hoping to find her? Three people can't search an entire city."

There were more than three people present, of course, but it went without saying the Aegises would accompany their Guardians.

"Do you have a better idea?"

"Well... no."

"We're going to try, Weiss. Yang knows the city pretty well, and Blake doesn't; maybe we'll get lucky."

"And I have some experience in trying to track down a woman already. I might have some contacts I can squeeze."

"Just watch who you get involved, Yang."

"I will. Let's get going. The longer we stand here the further she'll get."

The group split in three. While the others rushed away, Weiss set off at a more deliberate pace, and Myrtenaster fell into step with her. They were finally alone, but this definitely wasn't a date.

"Do you think we'll find her?"

"Unlikely. It's a big city, and something tells me Blake knows how to hide. We really should just go to the authorities."

"Are we going to do that?"

Weiss sighed. "No. I promised to the others I wouldn't, and I won't; at least not without their approval. Besides, we don't actually have any solid evidence. A few incriminating words are unlikely to impress law enforcement."

"Are we even going to look for her?"

"Just keep your eyes open. Like Ruby said: we might get lucky."

Myrtenaster smiled a little sadly. It didn't seem to be on the cards today, at least, and she could only hope it ever would. She resolved to at least get the most out of her time with Weiss. "Who knows? Maybe we will."


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: Shades of Gray**

Saturday morning found Weiss and the other remaining members of Team RWBY back in town.

"If we didn't find her yesterday, do you really think we are going to succeed today?"

"Whether we find her or not, we are still going to try," Yang said. "She's our teammate, we can't just abandon her."

"If she wants to talk to us, she knows where to find us. She probably doesn't even want us searching for her."

"Then that's tough luck for her, because we're going to."

Weiss sighed. "Shouldn't we at least have recruited more help?"

"We can't, not with something this sensitive. We'll handle this as a team."

"Does everybody remember their areas?"

"Yes, Ruby, we went over them enough times, and we have them on our scrolls." Weiss tried not to sound exasperated. She quite preferred this more organized approach to the previous day's ad hoc search.

"Right, I'll be off. I'll call you when I find her."

Yang strode off flanked by her Aegises. They could have theoretically covered more ground by splitting up, but none of them had seriously suggested that. An Aegis's place was at their Guardian's side. You never knew when trouble might arise.

Weiss and Ruby walked together for a while. Ruby kept glancing at her with an uncertain expression. Weiss noted that Myrtenaster and Crescent had dropped back, possibly to give them some privacy. Weiss resolved to wait until Ruby decided to break the silence. She didn't have to wait for long.

"Weiss, about what you said yesterday..."

"You'll have to be a little more specific."

"About your childhood... you know, if you want to talk about it, I'm here."

"Thank you, Ruby, but I don't. I shouldn't have even brought it up."

"I just... we're friends, right? If there's anything I can do to help—"

"I appreciate it, Ruby, I really do, but don't you think we have more pressing issues right now?"

"You're important, too. And it's, you know, a standing offer."

"I'll keep that in mind, but I'm fine."

"If you say so."

"I do."

They walked a while more in silence. This time Weiss broke it. "I believe this is where we part. Come, Myrtenaster."

"Uh, yeah. Well, good luck."

Weiss wasn't sure if her finding Blake would count as good luck or bad. "You too."

Myrtenaster again took her place at Weiss's side. "Do you think we will have any more luck today?"

"I don't, to be honest, but I suppose it is our duty to try, anyway. At least we have more of a plan today."

Myrtenaster smiled at Weiss. "Well, even if we won't achieve our objective today, I can't feel that a day spent with you is wasted, Weiss."

Weiss was surprised by Myrtenaster's declaration. "Even after yesterday? I'd have thought you'd have grown tired of only having me for company by now."

"I'll never get tired of you company."

Weiss returned her Aegis's smile. "Thank you, Myrtenaster. I've grown quite used to your company, too."

Weiss was speaking the truth. She found the constant presence of her Aegis comforting, as she supposed was only natural. She had long worried that Myrtenaster only accompanied her because of the terms of her employment, and might have grown to resent it. Her earnest words filled Weiss with a glowing feeling.

* * *

Weiss and Myrtenaster met Ruby and Crescent at the airship station in the evening, having predictably not managed to locate their missing teammate. Weiss at least hoped she hadn't made things more awkward with Myrtenaster. She had seen an opportunity to use this otherwise wasted day to try to improve their relationship. Unfortunately making friends, as opposed to networking, wasn't something she had a lot of practice with, and she wasn't sure her hesitant overtures had had the intended effect. Myrtenaster gave every indication of having appreciated them, but she could be just humoring her.

"Are you ready to call it a day?"

"No. We still haven't found her."

"It's a big city, Ruby. Another hour won't make any difference, and we need to rest, too."

"I know... it just feels like I'm letting Blake down."

"It was her decision to run. She could always come back if she wanted to."

"What if she can't? What if she's in trouble?"

"Then we should go to the police. They'd be much more likely to find her."

"Weiss..."

"She can take care of herself, Ruby. She's not your responsibility."

"Isn't she? I am the team leader."

"You are, but are you sure Blake is still on the team?"

"She is as far as I'm concerned."

"Fine. Can we go now?" Weiss looked around the platform. "Where's Yang?"

"She messaged me and said she still wanted to check out one place. She'll catch the later airship. We could stay out, too, and keep searching."

"We would risk missing the last airship, and we wouldn't have time to get far, anyway. The smart thing to do is to go back and get some sleep. I assume you want to search for her tomorrow, too?"

"Yes, of course. We owe it to her."

"And you don't know that Blake hasn't returned to the dormitory already. We could just be wasting our time here."

"Do you really think so? Wouldn't she have called us?"

"She's obviously not anxious to talk to us."

"I'm just worried about her, Weiss. I really thought she would have come back already. It's been almost two days."

"You exaggerate, Ruby. It's barely been a day and a half."

"Yeah, well, that's still a lot."

"I'm sure she's not the only student of this academy to ever disappear for a weekend. She might still show up for Monday's classes." Weiss suspected Blake was gone for good now that she had been found out, but Ruby probably didn't want to hear that.

"Maybe. Or maybe we'll find her tomorrow."

"Yes. Does that mean we can board the airship now? You realize we still have homework to do, too?"

"I really don't care about that right now, Weiss."

Weiss gave Ruby and admonishing stare.

"Fine. Let's go back. But we'll start looking again tomorrow, bright and early."

"If we must."

* * *

The moment the airship landed at the campus dock, Ruby rushed off with Crescent, ostensibly to check if Blake was back.

Weiss turned towards Myrtenaster. "Do you suppose we'd better take the long way back?"

"I believe Ruby is genuinely worried about Blake rather than trying to get some time together with Crescent. Besides, they did spend the day with just the two of them, just like us."

"Good point."

Weiss suspected that they hadn't spent their time exactly like she and Myrtenaster, however. There had probably been some private moments between the two. On the other hand, Ruby seemed genuinely anxious to find Blake, and she could be quite focused when the situation called for it. It was just a shame Ruby's concern was being wasted on a White Fang member.

"You know, instead of worrying about a probable terrorist, maybe she should show some sympathy for her partner."

"She did."

Weiss had to admit that Myrtenaster was right. Ruby had tried to approach her, and it was her own reluctance to discuss the matter further that had stopped her. Somewhat guiltily she remembered that while her childhood had indeed been stressful, Ruby's hadn't been a picnic, either.

Weiss pushed the thought away and voiced a growing worry. "Do you think Blake might have been here for me? A White Fang operative planted here to spy on me, or... or maybe to..." To do to her what the White Fang had done to more than one relative of hers. Why was she too squeamish to say it out loud?

"I'm sure she wasn't. She didn't seem the type."

"Clearly we were all mistaken about her character."

"Wouldn't she have rather shared a room with you, then, to be closer to you?"

"Maybe she was worried I'd discover her true nature. In fact I'm surprised Yang didn't notice anything. Maybe I give her too much credit."

"How would they have known you'd attend this Academy, and would they have been able to set it all up in time? You know better than anyone that getting in here isn't easy."

"You do make a fair point. Maybe they were just trying to infiltrate Beacon Academy and I was a target of opportunity."

"Weiss, we don't even know that she actually is a White Fang operative, let alone what her agenda would have been."

"She all but admitted that she was a member. Why else would she be here?"

"The White Fang wasn't always a terrorist organization. Maybe she disagrees with their current methods and was trying to get away. Beacon Academy would be an excellent place to hide."

"Now who's constructing elaborate scenarios on insufficient information?"

"I was just trying to make the point that we don't know enough to jump to conclusions. I don't believe that Blake is a bad person. Do you?"

"How would I know? She deliberately kept me in the dark."

"What did you think about the person you knew?"

"You mean the person I thought I knew." Weiss saw what Myrtenaster was getting at, though. "I thought she was a good teammate and a good person, even if she obviously wasn't fond of my family company. But I can't know if that was the real her."

"Until you learn differently, why not hold on to that view?"

"You know, this is really unlike you."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Miss, I didn't mean to offend—"

"I'm not offended, and I told you to call me Weiss. It's just that you've been a little bolder lately than I remember."

"Please tell me if I have overstepped my boundaries."

"You have not. It's not a bad thing, at all. I think maybe we both were overdue for a little change."

"I'm sure there are plenty of people who hope to reinvent themselves here."

Myrtenaster wasn't wrong. Clearly Weiss needed to get better at being friends if Myrtenaster was still stepping on eggshells around her. Back at the Schnee Manor Weiss had barely thought about the effect she had on Myrtenaster. She hoped it had been just normal teenage self-centeredness and not a sign that she'd inherited her father's dismissive attitude towards the less privileged.

Weiss suddenly wondered if instead of them, Myrtenaster was still talking about Blake. Could she have come here not to act as an agent of the White Fang, but to stop being one? Beacon Academy was a place to learn to fight against monsters. For Weiss, the White Fang qualified, but who were the monsters for a faunus like Blake?

Weiss was worried that she knew the answer. She was aware that allegations against the Schnee Dust Company under her father's rule weren't completely unfounded. Indeed, she one day hoped to restore it to a state closer to the company her grandfather had founded. That didn't mean she'd let it be destroyed by criminal scum that were worse than her father's flunkies could ever be. But was Blake one of them?

* * *

When Weiss and Myrtenaster reached their room, Ruby and Crescent were already there, as expected.

"She's not back."

"She still might return. There's probably no need to panic until she misses the classes on Monday." If that happened, Weiss privately resolved to approach the authorities, starting with the Headmaster. Ozpin should be made aware of what sort of people he was allowing in.

"Yeah, maybe... anyway, we can still find her tomorrow."

"Do you really think Sunday is going to be any different?"

"It might. Do you really want to give up on her?"

"She's the one who chose to leave us. I wasn't planning on running around looking for her all weekend. We still have our academic responsibilities, and I for one am not prepared to ignore them."

"How can you think about homework at a time like this?"

"Because somebody has to. Blake might be willing to throw her place here away, but I came here for a reason. I though you did too."

"Some things are more important than classes. Blake is a friend and a teammate."

"Is she really?"

"Yes."

Ruby's expression was determined, and there was admonishment in her tone. Weiss looked away. It was clear that Ruby still thought well of Blake, even after the revelations they'd had. Weiss wondered if it was loyalty or mere naivety. Ruby might be in for a rude awakening if they did finally find Blake.

Ruby sighed. "Fine, lets do the homework."

"Wait, really?"

"You're not going to stop nagging about it, are you? Let's get it out of the way now, so we can focus on Blake tomorrow."

Ruby surprised Weiss by following through on her declaration. For a while they worked on in quiet concentration. Ruby needed her help on an occasion, but she appeared quite determined to actually make progress on her homework rather than just make a gesture to appease Weiss. She approached her work with the same determination as she had approached searching for Blake. It occurred to Weiss that while she had mostly been concerned with herself, Ruby's focus had been on the team; on Blake, on Weiss, on her responsibilities as the leader. Weiss had to consider that maybe Ozpin had seen something in her she hadn't at the time.

Ruby clearly still thought of Blake as part of the team, and as such her worry for her was understandable. Weiss didn't doubt that Ruby would show the same concern for her if the situation called for it. She couldn't help but to be moved by the notion. Nobody had ever really been interested in her well-being, except maybe her sister and hopefully Myrtenaster. She felt ashamed about her self-absorption; she wasn't really living up to her promise to be the best partner Ruby could have. Even if she had her doubts about Blake, she should show her partner and leader the same support Ruby showed all of them. If Ruby wanted to still look for Blake, she would take the search seriously, despite her misgivings.

Should she give Blake, too, the benefit of the doubt? Ruby appeared to still trust her, but Ruby wasn't necessarily the best judge of character. She gave her trust too easily. Her taste could be questionable, too: she liked Yang and her weapons, after all. She really liked Crescent. She even liked Jaune, of all people.

She liked her.

The though was enough to give Weiss a pause. From the start, Ruby had wanted to be her friend. She had of course met a number of people who tried to curry favor with her on account of her being the Schnee heiress, but as far as she could tell, Ruby didn't care about that at all. It was enough for her that she was Weiss. Though she would never admit it to anyone, Weiss was touched by it. She wanted to be worthy of Ruby's affection and trust.

Did Blake feel the same? While Weiss could easily imagine Blake faking civility with her while planning to knife her in the back, she found it harder to picture her doing that to Ruby. If anyone had asked her on Friday morning, she would have said she believed that Blake actually liked Ruby.

"Ruby, do you like Blake?" Weiss noted that both Myrtenaster and Crescent looked up sharply at the question. Maybe it was a little strange question out of the blue.

"Huh?" Ruby looked up from her homework. "Yeah, I like her. She's not very social, which I can relate to, but I thought we were getting closer."

"How can you like her even after what we know?"

"We don't _know_ anything, Weiss. I'm not judging Blake, not until we hear the whole story."

"You might not like what you hear."

"Maybe. But Blake isn't a bad person, Weiss. I'm sure things aren't as bad as you think."

Weiss found herself hoping that was true, for Ruby's sake at least.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: Nuts and Dolts and Sniper Scythes**

Crescent Rose followed Ruby back out onto the street. "Now I kinda want a sandwich."

"I can buy you one if you want," Ruby said. "I'm not really hungry yet."

"Nah, it's still too early. I was just making conversation. You've been pretty gloomy."

A little too gloomy to be good company. Ruby usually paid her more attention than this, even if she exercised some restraint in public since girls weren't supposed to date girls. Crescent wasn't sure why it mattered who people dated before marriage, but too many people frowned at their kind of relationship. Society at large was a far cry from the more tolerant Academies and combat schools.

They were a Guardian and her Aegis, which helped. For the larger than life protectors of humanity relations with a same-sex Aegis were, if not precisely accepted, at least tolerated as a titillatingly scandalous indiscretion. Even Huntresses and Huntsmen were expected to get married and have children, though, and it wasn't like Aegises figured into that.

Ruby's parents obviously had done so. Crescent wondered how Summer's Aegis had felt about it. Yang's mother had seemingly indulged the convention only for the sake of a child. She'd vanished soon after Yang was born, leaving Taiyang alone with the baby. Was Raven together with her Aegis now? Crescent hoped that was the case.

She wished Ruby was holding her hand at least. That much affection wasn't considered unusual between girls.

"I'm sorry, Cress, I'm just worried about Blake."

Ruby's belated reply brought Crescent back into the present. "I know. You've been so obsessed with finding her that a girl could get jealous."

Crescent tried to make it sound like a joke. It mostly was, but she couldn't quite suppress a small worry in her mind. Ruby and Blake had lately been spending more time together. Blake was also very beautiful and, as far as Crescent knew, available.

"Obsessed? I'm not obsessed. If you went missing, do you think I'd care about homework? No, I just have this feeling that Blake's in trouble, and I want to find her before something bad happens."

"To her, or to someone else?"

"She's not a..." Ruby looked around to see if anyone was listening. "A terrorist. She's not going to hurt anyone. But she might get herself hurt doing something reckless."

"Like what?"

"I'm... not sure." Ruby paused long enough that Crescent suspected she had a definite idea, but didn't want to voice it for whatever reason. "I don't know why she doesn't feel like she can talk to me. I don't know what she wants. I need to find her so she can tell me."

"Because you care about her." Crescent hoped that hadn't sounded like an accusation.

"And because I'm her team leader. I don't think I handled things as well as I ought to have."

"Her row with Weiss kinda came out of nowhere."

"I'm not sure it did. I knew she cared about the faunus, even if I didn't know she was one."

"None of us did. She hid it pretty well." Which was suspicious in itself; Weiss was right about that, at least. It was one thing to not advertise it around bigots, and another to keep it a secret from her team.

"The point is that if I'd put more effort into getting to know her, maybe I would have seen it coming." Ruby looked down. "I should have tried to calm them down, in any case."

"They weren't listening to anyone else. You couldn't have known how bad it would get."

"Yeah, maybe, but I still feel like I let her down. And now Weiss isn't really talking to me either. I thought we were getting closer, too."

"But not too close, I hope."

Ruby hadn't really ever had close friends; Crescent and Yang had always been enough for her. Her insistence on getting friendly with Weiss was new and unsettling. It didn't help Crescent's peace of mind that Weiss was also physically very attractive, even if her manner was off-putting. And did she have to wear those heels all the time? Crescent knew very well how fond Ruby was of long shapely legs. At least Weiss didn't stack up in other areas.

"No one's going to take your place, Cress. I just want us to be friends. I want us all to be friends."

"I also want us all to be friends, Ruby."

Crescent jumped at the unexpected voice.

"Gah, Penny! Where did you come from?" There was a note of accusation in Ruby's voice, suggesting she was also rattled.

"From over there." Penny pointed behind her. "What are you guys doing?"

"Um, we're looking for Blake."

"Blake?" Penny paused for a second with her head tilted. "Ooh, you mean the faunus girl."

"Wait, how do you know she's a faunus?"

Penny pointed at the top of her head. "From the cat ears, of course."

"What cat ears? Those aren't ears, that's a..." Ruby's eyes widened. "She has cat ears under that bow?"

"Yes, you could hardly miss them. So where is she?"

"We don't know. She's been missing since Friday."

"That's terrible!" Penny dashed forwards to grasp Ruby by her shoulders. "Don't worry, Ruby my friend, I won't rest until we find your teammate."

"Ah, that's really nice of you, Penny, but we're okay."

"Yeah, we can manage just fine with the two of us. I'm sure you have better things to do than look for a stranger all day."

"She is not just a stranger to me, Crescent Rose. She is a teammate of my friend. Is she also your friend, Ruby?"

"Uh, yeah, she is."

"Then I know that you want all the help you can get to find her, because that's how I would feel if you went missing, friend Ruby."

"Well, all right. Three heads are better than two, I guess."

Crescent wasn't happy about Ruby giving in, but it wasn't like they really had a choice after a declaration like that. She wasn't sure Penny would even understand that her company wasn't welcome after Ruby had named her a friend; and if she could be made to understand... well, Crescent could only imagine the hurt and confusion on Penny's face. Neither her nor Ruby would ever be that cruel.

"Yeah, maybe you'll notice something we would have missed." Perhaps Penny would prove useful. While she seemed rather simple-minded, recognizing Blake as a faunus straight away indicated a surprising perceptiveness, at least in some things.

"Sensational! What grids have you already searched?"

"Uh... we've already divided areas with Weiss and Yang, let's just stick to our route for today."

"Have you considered traveling on the rooftops? The view would be much better from there."

Crescent wondered if Penny spoke from experience. It could explain her sudden appearances.

"Yeah, but you can't see into the shops. Let's just stick to the streets, we'll spot Blake from down here, too."

* * *

Crescent Rose wasn't thrilled that a stranger intruded on her time with Ruby, but she reminded herself that this was about finding Blake, not a day out with Ruby. She felt the twinge of jealousy she always experienced when somebody got close to Ruby, but she suppressed it. Wonderful though Ruby was, not everybody was interested in her, and she wasn't interested in every girl they came across. Ruby didn't even look at Penny like she did at Pyrrha, or Weiss, or Blake. There was nothing to worry about here.

"So, Penny, how's things at Atlas Academy?"

"Oh, I don't actually attend the Academy. I've mostly learned on my own, or with tutors."

"That explains some things," Crescent said. Homeschooled kids were always a little weird and awkward.

"Tutors? Are you from a rich family, like Weiss?"

"Oh, no, I'm not rich at all. Atlas Academy is sponsoring me. They expect great things from me."

"Really? It's pretty impressive to be singled out at a young age like that." Ruby would know something about that.

"A lot of people have put a lot of effort into me, and I want to do my best to match their expectations. This tournament is an excellent chance to evaluate my performance, they said."

"You are with the Atlas team, though, right?"

"Yes. They even arranged teammates for me." Penny leaned closer to Ruby. "I don't actually know very many people."

"You don't say."

"Shush, Crescent. You don't have regular teammates?"

"No, but I think it must be wonderful. You must be so worried about Blake."

"I am."

"How do you lose a teammate? Did you forget to take her with you when you went back? Did she wander off?"

"When Blake and Weiss had their argument, Blake said something worrying, and then she ran away."

"Are you mad at her?"

"No, we're not mad at her. Well, I guess Weiss kinda is."

"Is Weiss her friend?"

"I'm not quite sure right now."

"Why?"

"What Blake said... she might not be the person we thought she was."

"She might not be Blake at all?"

"No, she's Blake, but... Well, we just need to find her and have her explain it. I'm sure we can sort it all out."

"I'm sure you can too, Ruby."

Crescent had assumed Ruby found Penny as disconcerting as she did, but the more they talked, more at ease Ruby seemed to be. It occurred to Crescent that Ruby might well relate to a socially awkward young prodigy. Even though Penny was little on the plain side, and certainly not dressed to impress, she was Ruby's peer in a way that an Aegis could never be. Perhaps worry wasn't entirely out of place.

* * *

The night was darkening, but the three young women kept searching the city streets. Ruby's scroll rang and she answered it.

"Weiss, we are not calling it a night yet."

"Ruby, it is getting late." Weiss's voice was quite audible to Crescent, as she was walking next to Ruby. The reply had come after a little delay, suggesting Ruby had successfully preempted her opening salvo.

"And this is the last chance we have of finding Blake before the morning classes. We are going to search for as long as possible."

"And what if we miss the last airship?"

"Then we'll walk."

"Do you have any idea how long that would take?"

"I don't care, I'm not giving up yet. You can head back if you feel you need to."

"As if I could leave a dolt like you out here unsupervised."

Ruby smiled. "Thank you, Weiss."

"Don't let anyone say I'm not a good teammate. But you will make this up to me."

"I will."

Crescent thought Ruby should make it up to her as well. Traipsing around town all day without even any shopping wasn't her idea of a good time. She knew what sort of compensation she would prefer. Hopefully Weiss didn't have the same idea. No, Weiss was way too prudish for anything like that. She hoped Weiss wasn't interested in girls at all, before remembering poor pining Myrtenaster. Fine, Weiss could like girls, as long as they didn't include Ruby.

"Where to next, friend Ruby?" Penny still seemed full of energy, even though she had barely eaten anything all day, as far as Crescent could tell.

"Hmm, we've pretty much covered what we planned. We may need to—"

There was the sound of an explosion in the distance, and a column of black smoke soon billowed to mark the spot.

"Oh, no. Where is that? Is that the harbor?"

"You are correct, Ruby my friend."

"Come on, guys, let's go."

"What about your friend?"

"It's our duty as Huntresses to investigate," Ruby said. Crescent wasn't sure if that was really true for Huntresses-in-training. Last time they had intervened, Professor Goodwitch hadn't been too impressed with them. "Besides, Huntresses do kinda tend to attract trouble, so there's a good chance that's where Blake is."

"Then we don't have a moment to lose." Penny started to sprint towards the pillar of smoke.

"Just don't tire yourself out before we get there."

"Don't worry, Ruby, I can maintain this rate of speed for a long while."

"That's good to know." Ruby turned towards Crescent. "What about you?"

"I can't... keep up... with you two." Crescent, already winded, extended an arm towards Ruby. "Besides, there's bound to be trouble."

"Go ahead, Penny, I'll catch up."

Ruby took Crescent's hand and the two slowed to a stop. Crescent stepped into Ruby's embrace and kissed her. She always enjoyed this moment, the intimacy of it, the feel of that mystical connection that only an Aegis and their Joined Guardian could share. And of all such pairs, this one unique connection belonged to her and Ruby alone.

Right now she didn't feel any anxiety about them. Ruby was right: no one could ever take her place. She could give Ruby something no one else could. She felt the growing anticipation for that blissful moment when she surrendered all that she was to Ruby.

"I'll see you on the other side. Please take care of yourself."

"I promise."

Crescent Rose held Ruby closer as her world dissolved in a red blaze.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: The Wonder and Fascination**

Gambol Shroud followed a step behind Blake as she roamed the streets of Vale, seemingly aimlessly. At least she hadn't said anything about a specific destination. She hadn't really said much at all since running away from the team. She was probably trying to decide what to do next, and Gambol Shroud didn't want to disturb her thoughts.

"Do you want to get some coffee?"

Gambol Shroud looked up and saw Blake was nodding towards a coffee shop. The sign had a rabbit on it. She remembered that Blake had explained that sometimes an animal figure on a sign marked a business that was friendly to faunus. She had also said that sometimes it could mean that the place was for humans who had a particular fascination for faunus and that she should avoid those kinds of places. And sometimes a picture of an animal was just a picture of an animal. She wasn't quite sure how she was supposed to tell the difference, but she trusted that Blake could. The coffee shop certainly seemed nice.

"Okay."

Gambol Shroud and Blake were welcomed in and shown to a table by a young waitress. Gambol Shroud thought she must have been about her age. The barista behind the counter—if that was what the girl was—looked to be even younger. In the White Fang camps she had grown up in everybody contributed, but she hadn't known that children in Vale also had to work from a young age. There were no other employees present, but it was not a busy time.

"Two lattes, please," Blake said.

"Coming right up!"

The waitress headed over to the counter with almost a skip in her step. The barista received the enthusiastically delivered order much more coolly. Their interplay reminded Gambol Shroud of Ruby and Weiss. The barista's hair was more of a pale periwinkle than Weiss's pure white, but it was not entirely dissimilar. The waitress's strawberry blond hair was pretty far from Ruby's darker red, though.

Gambol Shroud looked up to Blake's eyes as she finally voiced a question that had troubled her for the last two days. "Are we going to have to leave again?"

Blake looked at her with worried eyes. "I don't... maybe. I'm a criminal. I don't know if I have a choice, now that they know."

"I'm a criminal, too."

"No, you're not. You haven't done anything illegal. It's because of my choices. I'm just sorry that I've dragged you down with me."

"When I became your Aegis I promised to always be with you."

Blake looked away. "You were so young. Did you even know what you signed up for?"

"I did." Gambol Shroud knew that sounded a little childish. She could explain that if she hadn't Joined with Blake, it would have been with someone else in the White Fang, someone who maybe didn't care as much about her; but she didn't think it would ease Blake's guilt. "I want to be with you."

"I know. I want to be with you, too," Blake said. "Do you like it at Beacon?"

"Yes." Gambol Shroud felt like she needed to elaborate. "I like the classes. I like Ember and Celica, and Yang. I like Ruby, too."

"What about the others?"

"I don't really know them. They seem nice."

"Even Weiss?"

"Ruby likes her. She can't be all bad."

"I'm not sure that's how it works.

"I'm sure Ruby doesn't like bad people."

"Would you like to stay with them?"

"I want to stay with you."

"You know what I mean. Would you like it if we stayed?"

"Here are your lattes!" The waitress put down the drinks in front of them. "I hope you enjoy them. I drew the latte art myself!"

"Thank you," Blake said. She watched the waitress walk away to bother the barista again. "She seems very... enthusiastic."

"She's a little like Ruby." Gambol Shroud wasn't sure why she said that aloud, and she regretted it the moment she saw Blake's teasing smile.

"You really do like Ruby, don't you?"

Gambol Shroud looked down into her latte. "She's nice." There was a picture of a stylized kitten's face on her drink. It was cute.

"Yeah, I guess she is." Blake blew on her latte and took a careful sip. "This is good."

Gambol Shroud tried hers. It was still a little too hot and burned her upper lip. She nodded.

"I don't know if we can stay," Blake said. "I'd like to, I think I could do some good here, but if they know what I used to be..."

"We quit."

"I'm not sure it'll make a difference."

"Ruby will understand. Yang will, too."

"I'd like to think so. But what about Weiss?"

Gambol Shroud didn't know how to answer that. She didn't know Weiss very well, as she had always kept some distance to her, but she didn't seem like the monster everybody had told her the Schnees were. "What do you think she'll do?"

"She could go to the police. Even if they have only suspicions, that could still get us into trouble. And if it got back to... our former associates—I don't think they take kindly to deserters."

"Do you think Ruby and Yang will let her do that?"

"I'm not sure they are in a position to prevent it, even if they wanted to."

"They would. I'm sure they would."

"I hope so."

Gambol Shroud waited until Blake sipped her coffee. She wanted to pay her back for earlier. "You like Yang, don't you?"

Blake swallowed and carefully put down her cup. "She's loud and overbearing, but she's not all that bad, I guess." She was acting suspiciously casual.

"You like like her. I've seen you look."

"I don't know what you mean." Blake didn't meet her eye.

"You look at her like Ilia used to look at you."

"Ilia? What? What are you talking about?"

"She'd always look at you from afar and sometimes she'd sigh. And when we were all sitting by the fire and somebody said something and you all laughed, she'd turn towards you with a smile and shining eyes. But you'd always be looking at Adam, and then she'd look away, a little sad and angry."

"Are you being serious?" Blake looked at her with her eyes a little wide. "No, you must be mistaken, she never... I never realized she felt that way about me."

"No. You just saw Adam."

"Yeah. I wish... but never mind that; I don't look at Yang like that."

"You like looking at her." Gambol Shroud dared her to deny it with her eyes, and Blake didn't. "It's okay. She's better than Adam."

"Maybe. I don't even really know her yet. I mean, maybe I do like looking at her, but I'm not planning on... I barely know her."

"If we stayed, maybe you could get to know her better."

"Gambol Shroud, are you trying to—"

Blake stopped in mid-sentence and her eyes went to the door as two people walked in.

"I get it, it's 'cause I'm a rabbit faunus."

"Come on, it's funny. Besides, the coffee's good."

Gambol Shroud turned to look at the newcomers. She recognized one of them, a second year Beacon student called Velvet. She was one of the few faunus students at the Academy, so Blake and she had naturally noted her. She supposed the girl in beret and dark glasses with her was her teammate; she didn't seem like an Aegis. Gambol Shroud watched as they walked straight up to the counter.

"Maybe we should leave," Blake said. "They'll probably recognize us."

Gambol Shroud wasn't sure that would matter, but looking out for them was Blake's job. "I haven't finished my coffee."

"No, but... on the other hand, maybe rushing out would be more suspicious."

"Are we on the run?"

"No, not exactly. At least I hope we aren't." Blake sighed. "Let's just finish our drinks."

Gambol Shroud sipped her drink and listened to the group at the counter. It was easy enough, since the place was nearly empty, and she had good hearing. They ordered some exotic coffees she wasn't familiar with, but then, they were second year Huntsman Academy students. The one who still hadn't taken off her dark glasses said something about the little girls' room and headed off. She seemed to know the way.

Blake tensed when Velvet turned their way and approached their table.

"Uh, hi. You're Blake, right? Your teammates have been looking for you."

"Did they say why?"

"Not really. I'm not sure why Yang even asked me, but maybe it's because she knows about..." Velvet let the sentence drop and brushed a hand through her hair, touching her long extra ears in the process.

"She told you, huh?"

"She didn't out you. It's not that hard to figure out, at least to one of us. I'm Velvet, by the way; hi."

Gambols Shroud gave a little wave at her.

"I'm not sure why you try to hide it, but I guess I might be tempted, too, if I had a Schnee for a teammate, and it was in any way feasible."

Gambol Shroud thought she could probably hide her ears with a turban.

"I was just trying to avoid having to deal with... unfortunate baggage."

"Is that why you're here and not at the Academy? Because they found out?"

"It's part of it. Weiss Schnee is just... she's a bigot. She equates all faunus with the White Fang, and she treats them like they're nothing but a criminal organization."

"Aren't they? They really aren't doing us any favors."

"How can you say that? They've been fighting for our rights for decades."

"Maybe they once did, but these days they don't care about anyone except themselves. I didn't ask them to run around murdering civilians in my name."

"They... the current leadership is a little extreme, but the approach seemed to work at first."

"I know some faunus cheer those lunatics on, but I didn't expect a Beacon student to be one of them. Maybe you haven't noticed, hiding under that bow, but they aren't exactly making things better for the rest of us." Velvet took a serious look at Blake. "You aren't involved in anything that would make trouble for the Academy, are you?"

"I—no, I'm not. I just needed a little time off. Look, I know the White Fang have gone too far lately. But that still doesn't mean they are behind every crime that happens. Weiss is convinced they are to blame for these recent Dust robberies."

"You don't think they are? Targeting Dust merchants is what they do. There's a rumor that they stole an entire train car full of Dust from the Schnee Dust Company, and that the SDC is trying to keep it quiet."

"I'm aware." Blake looked down for a second. "But that's the point. They target the big Dust producers that exploit faunus miners. Hitting local retailers doesn't hurt them, they've already got their money."

"I'm not sure they'd actually care about that."

"They d—arn well should." Blake's eyes flicked to Gambol Shroud for a second before she returned her focus on Velvet. "If I could just show Weiss she's wrong about the robberies, maybe she'd see reason."

Gambol Shroud knew that Blake was wiser than her, but she really didn't see what difference that would make to Weiss. She also wasn't sure why Blake was so sure their former comrades weren't involved. After all, their last job for them had involved stealing an entire train car full of Dust.

"And how do you propose to do that?" Velvet seemed skeptical, but Gambol Shroud wasn't sure if it was of the idea, or the White Fang's innocence.

"I wish I knew."

"Um." Gambol Shroud shrank a little when Blake and Velvet turned to look at her, but she steeled herself. She could help Blake with this one, at least. "If you want to show that the White Fang aren't behind the robberies, we need to go where they would be if they were, and not find them there."

Blake and Velvet stared at her in bewilderment. Sometimes Guardians could overlook really simple things. It was a good thing she was here.

"I have no idea where that would be, though. There must still be a lot of Dust shops left in this city."

"I may have an idea," Velvet said. "There's an Atlas freighter coming in today, loaded with Schnee Dust. If it is the White Fang, no way can they resist that."

"Wait, how do you even know that?"

"Some people I grew up with ended up working at the docks, they've been grumbling about it for a while now. They're not big fans of the Schnees."

"Right. Yeah, that's a target A—the White Fang would love to hit. If nothing happens there tonight, then it's not them. Thanks, Velvet."

"Don't mention it. And don't mention me."

"Checking out the freshmen, Velv? Greedy."

"Coco." There was a certain weariness in Velvet's voice. "These are Blake and..."

"Gambol Shroud," Blake said.

"This is Coco Adel, my team leader."

"Is that all I am, now?" Coco seated herself at the table, forcing Velvet to move aside. Gambol Shroud shrank back from her.

"It's just the two of you here?" Blake said. "Where are your Aegises?"

"Ah, Velvet here doesn't have an Aegis, and my darling Gabrielle didn't want to feel like a third wheel, so she stayed back."

Blake's eyebrows rose. "Really? You don't have an Aegis even though you made it to Beacon Academy?"

"Even an Aegis isn't versatile enough to work well with my Semblance. I've been working on a solution, though. I've been studying the art of—"

"This bunny here has never needed an Aegis to kick ass. And once her project is finished, she's gonna be even more awesome."

"So you'll be relying on her if there's trouble?"

"I'm not exactly useless without Gaby. She has my scroll in case we need her."

"If you say so."

"I do. Kids these days, no respect for their seniors." Coco glanced behind her and got up. "I believe our drinks are ready. Come on, Velv, let's leave these two lovecats in peace."

Blake blushed in embarrassment as the seniors walked away. She shot a quick apologetic gaze at Gambol Shroud, maybe for her failure to protest at the implication. Gambol Shroud wondered if maybe she wanted their relationship to move in that direction? It seemed to happen a lot in Blake's books, the ones she didn't read with her. Gambol Shroud didn't think she'd mind. It's not like it would be very different from what they had now, except in the books the pairs did things together they never had. Maybe Blake had done those things with Adam? It would explain the noises. She was glad Blake wasn't with Adam anymore.

"Hey, are you okay with going to the docks to check things out?"

"Of course." She didn't know why Blake would even ask.

"It's probably going to be pretty boring."

"That's okay."

Blake smiled and reached out to cup Gambol Shroud's cheek. "I really appreciate you, you know?"

Gambol Shroud nodded. Blake had made it clear enough. She was grateful to be with Blake, too; she didn't think anyone else in the White Fang would have been even half as good to her. Blake had always cared for her, even before it was discovered she was an Aegis. She had been lucky to end up with someone as wonderful as Blake. At Beacon she had discovered there were other good Guardians, too, like Ruby. Beacon was much better than the White Fang had been, and she hoped they could stay.

Blake glanced towards the interior of the shop and abruptly dropped her hand while blushing. Gambol Shroud followed her eyes and saw Coco grinning in their direction. She still had her dark glasses on.

"Finish your latte. We'll get some snacks in case it's a long stakeout and head for the docks."

Gambol Shroud nodded.

* * *

Blake backed up from the edge of the warehouse roof and turned to speak to Gambol Shroud, her voice low. "Nothing yet, seems like we're early. Assuming anyone's going to even show up."

They had hung back as the workers, many of the faunus, unloaded containers marked with Schnee Dust Corporation emblem from a large ship, then found a vantage point closer to the location. They were fairly exposed out here, but Blake was confident the darkness would be cover enough, as long as they stayed low.

"The other targets were small Dust shops. Whoever was behind them might not even have the resources for something this big."

"The White Fang would."

"Do you think it could be them? I can understand hitting the SDC, but these robberies seem to be more about stockpiling Dust. They've never needed that much before."

"What if they did?"

"Adam would have known about it. Why wouldn't he have told me?"

Gambol Shroud could think of several reasons, but she just looked away.

"Was she just using me all along? Was I really that blind?"

Gambol Shroud looked down. Blake had never seemed to notice Adam's manipulative and abusive tendencies, or had tried to downplay them, even to her. She had tried to tell her Adam was a bad man, but at the end of the day she was just an Aegis. Who was she to second-guess her Guardian? She was glad Blake had finally seen the light.

"I was, wasn't I? He was always dismissive of you. What kind of a person tries to come between a Guardian and their Aegis? I never criticized Wilt and Blush." Blake suddenly pulled Gambol Shroud into a hug. "I'm sorry. I'm always dragging you into my messes."

"It's okay. I'll always follow you."

"I know. I don't deserve it, but I know. I'm always just thinking about myself when I'm supposed to be looking out for you." Blake held her a while in silence. "Uh... speaking of which, I probably shouldn't be just grabbing you whenever I feel like it."

Gambol Shroud wrapped her arms around Blake's back and closed her eyes. "It's fine. I like it."

"I'm glad. But we're being a little conspicuous here, so maybe we should save this for later."

"Okay."

"Wait. What's that sound?"

A pair of Bullheads were approaching the dock barely above the rooftops, flying without lights.

"I think we found our robbers." Blake watched the Bullheads as they got nearer. "Whoever they are, they are better equipped than I thought."

The Bullheads landed next to the SDC containers, and uniformed troops disembarked from them. Both Blake and Gambol Shroud instantly recognized the uniforms and Grimm masks. "Oh, no..."

"Did you really think it wasn't them?" This had been their life for years, after all.

"I guess I just wished it wasn't. I didn't want to think they'd be involved in petty crime. Or did I just not want them here to complicate my life any further?"

Gambol Shroud figured Blake was just asking a rhetorical question, so she stayed silent. Blake often thought out loud when it was just the two of them.

A tall figure emerged from one of the Bullheads. He was dressed very differently from the White Fang troops, wearing a white suit and a black bowler hat. Blake and Gambol Shroud could hear him shout directions and abuse at the troops, his voice carrying clearly in the still night air.

"Something's wrong. That's Roman Torchwick, from the news."

"The one Ruby fought."

"The White Fang would never work with a human, especially a scumbag like him. Adam would sooner kill him." Blake turned towards Gambol Shroud. "I need to get down there and find out what's going on. It's... it's probably going to be dangerous."

"That's why you have me."

Blake smiled. "I'm glad. Are you ready?"

Gambol Shroud nodded emphatically.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21: Lost and Found**

It didn't take Ruby very long to catch up with Penny, though Penny herself was pretty fast. Ruby flashed her a smile as she passed her. Penny responded by speeding up to keep pace with her. Was she pushing herself too hard, or had she been going easy so Ruby could catch up? It wasn't very often that Ruby found another student who could keep up with her, even without using her Semblance. Aura enhanced all of a Guardian's abilities, but not equally. Yang had an affinity for strength, and Ruby had always been fast. She found the experience of speeding through the streets of Vale with Penny at her side exhilarating. They ran on, dodging around the few pedestrians still around and jumping over the occasional car.

Ruby wouldn't have minded doing this for fun, but there was a definite goal tonight: the trouble at the docks. There had been more explosions, and as they got closer they occasionally heard sounds of gunfire. Ruby had a hunch that it might be tied to the Dust robberies; they had been getting more frequent, and the latest place hit had been right by the docks. If she was right, somebody was giving the robbers problems, and Ruby thought it might be Blake. She and Weiss had quarreled about the robberies, among other things, and Ruby expected Blake might have decided to investigate the matter on her own. It's what she would have done. Or tried to, anyway; she didn't have a lot of experience at that sort of legwork. Maybe Blake did.

The sight of large warehouses and towering cranes behind them told Ruby they were on the edge of the docks. Whatever was going on was taking place behind the ring of the dark brooding structures. Ruby grabbed Crescent Rose from her holster at the small of her back without slowing down. She held out her arm as her Aegis unfurled from her compact carry mode into full bloom. As usual, a small part of her marveled at Crescent's precision control over her transformation. She had probably gone overboard designing her weapon form, but bit by bit Crescent had managed to incorporated all the numerous small motors and the intricate moving parts they controlled. Aegises were amazing, and Crescent most of all.

With a burst of her Semblance Ruby ran straight up the wall of the warehouse. She didn't have the benefit of Weiss's Glyphs for traction this time, so she fired Gravity Dust rounds as she ran to use the heavy recoil to both keep her to the wall and help propel her upwards. She cleared the edge of the roof, and another quick application of her Semblance let her change her direction in mid-air to land on it with a roll.

She looked back to see how Penny was doing and saw her come vaulting over the edge. She couldn't have jumped that high, surely? The angle was a little odd, too. Was she hiding a grappling hook somewhere? She did have that little backpack. As cool as that would be, Ruby didn't have time to dwell on it. She was close enough to the source of the disturbance that she could distinctly hear sounds of combat. She headed towards the other end of the roof to get a sense of the situation.

The first thing she noticed was Blake, the white of her shirt and shorts standing out against the darker background. The initial elation at having found her friend gave way to worry as she realized that she was backed up against a container, down on one knee, and surrounded by masked and armed troops. The fighting had paused for the moment, the participants staring each other down in a standoff, which gave Ruby a moment to study the situation. These weren't the same goons she had run into. Their uniforms made them look like paramilitaries, and some of them had obvious faunus features. Had Weiss been right about the White Fang being involved?

Ruby noticed a discordant figure among Blake's antagonists. She instantly recognized Roman Torchwick. It seemed he had upgraded his hired help since the last time they tangoed. She also recognized the cane he was raising towards Blake. It was time to intervene.

"Hey!" Ruby's high voice pierced the night air. When the combatants looked her way she swung Crescent Rose and planted it point first into the raised edge of the roof, letting them see her profile against the sky. She was well aware that many people found her big sexy sweetheart intimidating, and she tried to use it to good effect.

"Why hello there, Little Red! Isn't it past your bedtime?" Apparently Torchwick still remembered her, too.

Penny walked up next to her. "Do you know these people, Ruby?"

"Penny, get back—"

Ruby took her eye away from the scene for a moment as she addressed Penny, and a high-pitched whine was the only warning she got that she had messed up. She turned back just in time to get hit by a blast from Torchwick's weapon. She was thrown back and landed on the roof with a frustrated grunt. She really shouldn't have left herself open like that; that's what she got for trying to look cool. At least Weiss wasn't here to see it.

Fear gripped Ruby again as she saw Penny walk to the edge, undeterred. "Penny, don't, these guys are dangerous."

Penny half-turned towards her and flashed her a confident smile. "Don't worry, Ruby. I'm combat ready." With that, Penny dropped off the roof.

Ruby rushed to the edge, her heart pounding. She knew it was reckless, as the surprise attack had likely consumed enough of her Aura to leave her vulnerable, but she felt responsible for Penny. She had brought her along, and if anything happened to her, it would be her fault. She peered over the edge at the battlefield.

Nothing was happening to Penny; rather, Penny was happening to the robbers. She was fighting them with a set of hovering blades that she seemed to have admirable control over. One moment she sent a storm of blades towards the opposition, the next she gathered them into a wheel formation and used it to knock down anyone trying to regroup. Ruby thought she might have a Semblance that let her manipulate things remotely, like Pyrrha or Professor Goodwitch, until she noticed the blades were connected to her back through wires so thin she could only see them when they caught a light. They were probably control wires, and the blades were equipped with a miniaturized Dust-based levitation system. A pretty beefy one, judging by the force they could impart.

Could it be cybernetic control? Ruby knew Atlas was the world leader in the field, but she had only ever heard about prosthetic replacements, not weapons grafted on like extra limbs. When Penny said Atlas Academy was sponsoring her, she hadn't pictured anything like this. No wonder she didn't need an Aegis. Ruby counted ten blades around Penny. It had to be difficult to control that many at once. Maybe that was why she seemed to prefer to keep them locked in a tight formation rather than control each one individually. As Ruby watched her, she started to think Penny's gestures were connected to the actions of the blades. Maybe they were actually controlled through some system built into her clothes.

Before Ruby could get over her amazement and do something to help, Penny had already scattered the soldiers on the docks. Many were down and out, while the rest tried to scramble away. The expression on Penny's face signaled that she felt in complete control. Combat ready, indeed. It was obvious that she'd just get in Penny's way if she tried to join in, and she had no intention of repeating the mistake she had made in her first team-up with Weiss. She grabbed Crescent Rose and collapsed her into her gun mode so she could offer long-range support while hopefully retaining enough mobility to avoid potential return fire.

Sound of heavy gunfire alerted Ruby to two Bullheads approaching and setting on a strafing run. Just how well-equipped were these guys? There were already two Bullheads on the ground. The airborne ones had their sights on Penny. She spun the wheel of blades in front of her to deflect the incoming gunfire. Two more blades emerged from her backpack that seemed much too small to house them. They shot back towards the warehouse behind Penny and embedded themselves into the wall. Penny followed, pulled away from the line of fire as the wires retracted. They were tougher than they looked. Ruby felt vindicated: Penny did have a grappling hook, after a fashion.

Penny changed the configuration of her weapons, arranging them into a cylindrical formation in front of her. The blades themselves transformed, letting Ruby know that they were gunblades rather than simple swords. The cylinder started to spin, and a glowing green energy charge started building up in the middle of it. Ruby had read of an experimental weapons system like that, but she hadn't heard anything about a girl-portable version of it. She experienced an intense desire to get her hands on it, and she might have been drooling just a little bit.

The charge quickly built towards a release. Where was the power even coming from? Was this her Semblance? Did she have Dust cells built into her clothing? Just how much Lien had Atlas spent on her gear, and how exceptional was she to justify such an expense? Penny couldn't be much older than her, but Ruby didn't think a seasoned Huntress could have done a better job with the robbers. She was beginning to suspect Team RWBY's chances at winning the tournament might not be very high.

Penny thrust her arms forward. A bright green ray lanced out from her weapon and split the Bullheads in flight. Ruby could only watch in awe as the cut apart halves followed unpowered trajectories over the building behind Penny, spilling their crew and cargo, and splashed into the waters of the harbor. Penny was packing the firepower of an Atlas mech.

Not all the enemies present had been engaged with Penny. A group of them had been attempting to secure a container so it could be lifted by a Bullhead, but now they abandoned their task and scrambled to get on board rather than stay to face Penny. Ruby couldn't blame them. A little further back Roman Torchwick was boarding the other grounded Bullhead, alone. Ruby wasted little time in taking a shot at him. She missed, not being braced for a long-range shot. In her worry for Penny she had neglected to switch out the Gravity Dust rounds she used to aid in maneuvering, and the recoil was significant. By the time she steadied the sights on Torchwick again, he had already closed the door.

Ruby didn't waste another shot at him, as she had learned from her first run-in with Torchwick that Bullheads were too well armored for Crescent Rose. She swapped out the magazine for one loaded with Fire Dust rounds and began raining fire on the retreating troops. She aimed by their feet rather than straight at them, as she wasn't sure if they could take a direct hit from a weapon designed for killing Grimm. They'd held out against Blake for minutes, and she didn't see any visible injuries on the ones Penny had downed, so they probably could, but not knowing for sure she played it safe; she only wanted to prevent them from boarding the Bullhead. Weiss could have frozen them in their tracks. Maybe she should invest in some Ice Dust rounds for crowd control.

The two Bullheads lifted off and escaped into the night, leaving behind everyone who hadn't made it on board. That seemed to be Torchwicks's style. Penny wasn't firing at them as they departed. Maybe she only had enough charge for one shot. She menaced the few remaining robbers with her flying swords, and they surrendered. Ruby swept Crescent Rose across the dockyard one last time, but didn't see any movement. She returned Crescent on her back and jumped down to rejoin Penny.

"Nice work, Penny."

"Thank you, Ruby, but these guys weren't a serious challenge."

"I guess not," Ruby said. "Not for you, anyway." She had to wonder what would be.

Blake approached the two of them warily. "Friend of yours, Ruby?"

"You remember Penny, surely. I ran into her again, and she's been helping me look for you."

"Ah." Blake stopped. "Well, you found me."

"In the nick of time, it seemed."

"Yes. Thank you. You too, Penny."

Blake was still standing a few meters away, looking awkward. Ruby had had enough of it. She tapped into her Semblance for an instant and had her arms wrapped around Blake before the older girl had time to even react.

"Wha—"

"I've been worried sick about you. I'm just glad you're all right."

"Oh. Uh, I'm sorry I made you worry."

"It's okay. Just don't do it again." Ruby let Blake go and stood grinning at her.

"Ruby?"

"You've got kitty ears!"

Blake cracked a smile. "Yes. Yes, I do."

"Oh! That's not, like, insensitive, is it?"

"Don't worry about it."

"It's just that they're really cute."

Blake's eyes widened a little. "I'm... glad you like them."

"We should probably do something about the bad guys," Penny said.

"Uh, right." Ruby looked at Blake. "What do you want us to do with them?"

"Do with them?" Penny sounded puzzled. "They are criminals. It is our duty to assist the proper law enforcement officials in effecting their capture."

"She's right, Ruby. Let's round these criminals up and wait for the cops."

That would have been Ruby's call, of course, but she had wondered if maybe Blake would want to let them go, if they really were her former comrades. "Yeah, they're probably on their way, but we should call it in, anyway. I'd better call Weiss and Yang, too, and tell them I found you."

"Yes, I suppose you'd better." Blake didn't sound so enthusiastic. Even her cute cat ears were drooping.

* * *

The police arrived soon enough and took the prisoners off their hands after Ruby delivered her report. They didn't even chew her out for property damage or for putting herself at risk. Maybe it wasn't their department, or maybe they were only too happy that some Huntresses-in-training had been around to stop a rather large group of very well-armed criminals.

Ruby returned to Blake who had been standing a little off while she dealt with the police. She'd also covered her ears with her bow once again. Ruby hoped this wasn't the last time she got to see her without it.

Because it would mean Blake felt comfortable to be herself around her, of course, and not just to see her cute kitty ears again.

"So what happens now?"

"We wait for Weiss and Yang to get here, and then we go home."

"Does that include me?"

"Of course it does. Don't you want to come back?"

"It's not that simple. How can you want me back? You do realize what I let slip, right?"

"That you were with the..." Ruby checked around to see if they were being listened to. "Hey, where did Penny go?"

Blake also looked around. "I don't know. I didn't notice her leave."

"Huh. Weird." Ruby didn't feel too worried about the disappearance. Penny could definitely take care of herself.

"Back to the issue at hand. Can you really trust me when I used to be with the White Fang?"

"But you aren't anymore, right?"

"No. I left them when I couldn't agree with their methods anymore."

"That's all that matters, isn't it? You're not with them anymore, now you're training to be a Huntress with the rest of Team RWBY. You're my teammate and my friend, and I trust you. I just wish you could trust me, too."

Blake glanced to the side. "How did you even find me?"

"I just followed the explosions." Ruby gave Blake a wry smile. "I was anxious to find you because I thought you'd get yourself into some trouble. So when trouble popped up, I was pretty sure I'd find you there."

"I'm not sure if that's really sound reasoning, but you're here and so am I."

"Yeah."

Ruby and Blake stood facing each other for a while. Ruby wondered if it was equally awkward for Blake, too. The weight of Crescent Rose on her back reminded her that it was high time to let her turn back. However, there was one more thing that needed to be said, and it was best done in private.

"Look, I'm not very good at this, but it kinda comes with the job and... I mean..." Ruby took a deep breath. "I care about you, because you are my friend. But I'm also your team leader, and that means your well-being is my responsibility. I can't help you if I don't know what's going on with you." Blake's face was unreadable, and Ruby was steadily losing steam, and her confidence. "Just, next time something, anything, comes up, talk to me. Please."

Blake was silent long enough that Ruby had time to think she wasn't going to say anything, but eventually she did. "I... can appreciate that it doesn't make your job any easier if a member of the team goes off on her own. I'll... I'm not really used to this team thing, or... talking about things. I'll try to do better, in the future."

"Hey, nobody's perfect from the start. We're all trying to get better, bit by bit. Speaking of which, we really need to get cracking on the fight drills if we are going to have any hope of taking on Penny in the tournament."

It was a rather clumsy attempt at changing the subject, but Blake seemed to take it in the spirit it was offered. "Yeah. Is she really a student? How did she even do half the things she did?"

"I hope I get the chance to ask her. Come on, lets go sit down."

Ruby led the way towards a group of crates and pulled Crescent Rose from her back. She felt for their connection and sent an impulse that let Crescent know it was okay for her to turn back. In a bloom of red she filled out to her full human form in her arms.

"Well, this is nice. I guess everything is well?"

"Yep, we found Blake, and kicked the bad guys' asses. Well, that was mostly Penny."

Ruby put Crescent down and turned back to look at Blake. Gambol Shroud was back in her human—well, faunus, probably—form and looking around, trying to work out what was going on. Ruby smiled at her. "Hey, Gambol."

"Hi, Ruby."

Ruby jumped on top of the crate and Crescent climb up next to her. Blake sat down cross-legged on the crate in front of her, with Gambol Shroud beside her. Ruby looked at her scroll.

"Weiss should be here any minute. Do you... uh, do you want me to talk to her first, or...?"

"No, I'll face her on my own. She deserves an explanation."

"She was kinda out of line."

"But not entirely without reason." Blake nodded towards the Schnee Dust Company containers, and the clear marks of battle around them. "This kind of stuff... I thought what we did was justified, that it was deserved punishment for those who mistreated our kind. But now I have to wonder if it wasn't maybe more self-serving than I thought."

Ruby went to speak, but wasn't sure what to say. Had Blake been a part of something like that before? She didn't want to believe that. "I... don't really know anything about what that was like."

"No. It's not like I've ever talked about it."

"You talked about the faunus, before. I think maybe I should have realized you were one."

"Maybe. I wasn't as cautious as I should have been." Blake smiled a little. "It's easy to let my guard down around you."

"Thanks. I think."

"We'll talk about it. Later."

"You don't have to—"

"No, I do. I don't want to, but you guys need to know about the White Fang. I don't think this is the last time we'll run into them. That is, if I'm still—"

"Blake, stop it already. You're still on the team. You were never off it in my books."

"Does Weiss share your view?"

Ruby looked past Blake's shoulder and nodded in that direction. "Why don't you ask her yourself?"


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22: Under a Shattered Moon**

Myrtenaster watched as Weiss put away her scroll, frowned, and turned to address her. "That was Ruby. She said she's found Blake."

Myrtenaster had heard as much, but didn't see the need to point that out. She focused instead on Weiss's worried expression. "Isn't that a good thing?"

"It is what we were here to accomplish, but I can't help worrying about what comes next."

"How so?"

"Ruby likely thinks that finding Blake fixes everything, but Blake ran away for a reason. She might not like what Blake has to say." Weiss held up her scroll again. "They are at the docks. I'll call a taxi."

"Isn't that where the explosions were?"

"Yes, according to Ruby they stopped an attempted theft of an SDC Dust shipment." Weiss was still frowning as she fiddled with her scroll.

"Isn't _that_ a good thing?"

"Yes... but Ruby found Blake at the scene. What was she doing there? Trying to stop the thieves on her own?"

"It is a Huntress's duty, isn't it?"

"We are not Huntresses yet, and even if we were, we are not obligated to do police work without being requested to assist. No, what if she was there for some other purpose?"

"Such as?"

"How did she even know to be there? I still think the White Fang is behind these robberies. What if she was there to rejoin them?"

"Wouldn't Ruby have said something?"

"Ruby is naive, and likes to think the best of everyone. Blake could easily fool her." Weiss looked around, her expression annoyed. "Where is that taxi?"

"You really care about her, don't you?"

"She is my partner, and I will watch out for her. I'd expect her to do the same for me. There's no reason to read anything into it."

Myrtenaster hid her fond little smile. "Of course."

* * *

The taxi arrived presently and took them to the docks. The police had isolated the area, but let them through when Weiss identified herself as a Beacon student and told them her partner was at the scene. Weiss led the way, walking rapidly with her head swiveling as she sought out her partner. Finally they spotted her sitting with Blake and their Aegises a little to the side from the police activity. Weiss seemed to calm down at the sight.

Once they got closer, Ruby looked their way, and Blake turned to follow her gaze. Blake got up and walked towards them, looking anxious. Myrtenaster saw Ruby tense behind her.

"Weiss, I want you to know that I'm no longer associated with the White Fang."

"Okay." The two stared at each other for a moment. "But you were."

"Yes. I joined them when—"

"Save it. I don't need to hear it." Weiss looked around. "This was a White Fang operation, wasn't it?"

"Yes. I don't know why—"

"So I was right. They were behind the Dust robberies."

"It seems that way. They are working together with the human criminal Roman Torchwick."

"So they are just common criminals."

Blake's shoulders tensed. "They are—"

"Are you two really going to do this again?"

Myrtenaster looked back at the speaker and saw that Yang and her Aegises had joined them. They couldn't have arrived much behind her and Weiss.

Weiss sniffed. "We can save it for later. Do you know how much trouble you've put as through? We've been looking for you all weekend. It is late, and I just want to get back to Beacon."

"Of course."

"For now I only need to know one thing: why did you quit the White Fang?"

"They were no longer the organization I thought they were."

"Are you sure they ever were?"

"Yes." Blake's eyes narrowed.

"Fine." Weiss looked to the side. "We can discuss that later, too. I just want you to promise me one thing."

"Anything."

Weiss smirked. "You should know better than to make careless promises like that. I want you to promise that the next time something this big comes up, you'll trust your teammates enough to explain yourself, and not run off and leave us thinking the worst."

"I promise."

"Good."

There was a moment of somewhat awkward silence, until it was broken by Ruby. "Alright! Team RWBY is back together." She had her hands in the air.

Myrtenaster suspected her exuberance was born out of relief. She shared the sentiment; she had been worried Weiss would be unwilling to make peace with Blake.

"And you!" Weiss whirled around to point at Yang. "How could you not notice your partner was actually a faunus."

"Oh, I knew that."

"What?" Weiss and Blake said in one voice, their eyes wide.

"We live in the same room, kitty cat. You slipped up a few times."

"Why didn't you say anything!" Weiss said.

"No need to bite my head off, sourpuss, I just didn't think it was my place to let the cat out of the bag."

"I appreciate that," Blake said.

"You know, in case it had cat-astrophic consequences."

"If you're quite done," Blake said, narrowing her eyes, "would you mind telling me what gave me away?"

Blake's look had no effect on Yang's smile. "It was a cat-alog of little things. I wasn't pawsitive at first, but once I knew to be on the look-out for tell-tail signs, it wasn't hard to confurm my gut feline."

"Just how long have you been sitting on those puns?"

"It's been so hard to hold back, I'm not even kitting."

"Yang..." There was danger in Blake's eyes.

Yang's grin only grew wider. "But I did! Fur you, purrtner."

"I'm leaving now."

"I'll call a taxi." Weiss looked around to take the group in. "Or two."

"You don't have to do that," Ruby said.

"How else are we going to get back in time to get any sleep? The last airship went ages ago." Weiss smirked at Blake. "And some of us have homework to do, too."

Blake groaned. "I knew coming back was a mistake."

* * *

Myrtenaster watched as Blake, Gambol Shroud, Yang, Ember, and Celica tried to arrange themselves into the other taxi. Yang ended up sitting at the front, as Gambol Shroud apparently didn't want to be separated from Blake, and wasn't permitted to sit on her lap. The two piled into the back seat with Yang's weapons. The three Aegises were on the small side, but it still looked a pretty tight fit.

"Do you think it's fair to make Blake ride with Yang?"

"She has earned her punishment, and I'm not going to be subjected to any more Yang tonight. Can you believe all of her cat puns?"

"They were appalling," Myrtenaster said with a little private smile. At least Yang's cataract of puns had helped lighten the mood. It only now occurred to Myrtenaster that that might have been Yang's aim all along.

"Of course partners share a ride," Ruby said. She looked like she was going to throw an arm around Weiss, but held off when Weiss leaned away. "Who sits where?"

"I will obviously sit at front, since I'm paying," Weiss said. "You three sort it out among yourselves."

Myrtenaster ended up sitting behind Weiss, with Ruby at the other end of the back seat, and Crescent Rose in the middle. Privately Myrtenaster would have preferred it if Ruby had been sitting next to her. Ideally, Weiss, too.

* * *

Beacon Academy was built on a cliff overlooking a lake some distance away from the city proper, and the only direct route there was by an airship. Myrtenaster stared out the window as they traveled on the long and winding road along the soaring cliff. The route was circuitous and would have been quite scenic, had it not been too dark to see much of anything but the city lights across the lake. On the other side of the road there was nothing but a dark forest. In places where the road veered further away from the cliff's edge the city lights disappeared, and the only sign of people anywhere were the lights of the other taxi ahead. The only sound was the low hum of the engine. The rest of the world was darkness, and it felt like they were all alone in it.

It was just as well that everybody seemed too tired to have appreciated the scenery, anyway. Weiss was quiet, either deep in thought or asleep. Ruby and Crescent napped resting against each other, their heads together. The feeling constricting Myrtenaster's heart at the sight was not jealousy, but more a lonely melancholy, inspired by the sense of isolation brought on by the enveloping darkness. Vale was warm compared to Atlas, but sitting alone by the window at night Myrtenaster felt cold. She would have loved to be huddled up against Weiss. For all that she could have reached out to touch her, she felt very far away.

Would she ever gain her heart's desire? How long should she keep pining for the unreachable, before trying to move on? But if not Weiss, who else? She did find Ruby attractive, in many ways, but she wasn't someone she would really consider pursuing. She had her private fantasies about Ruby, but those featured Weiss more often than herself. She didn't think Crescent would allow either of those pairings to happen, and she would never come between an Aegis and her Guardian. If only Weiss would see her as Ruby saw Crescent.

She knew what Crescent would tell her—what she had told her: let Weiss know how she felt. She found the proposition scary. What if Weiss would react badly to it, and grow more distant again, or even send her away? If she explained the reason to her father, Myrtenaster was sure he'd be willing to arrange a replacement for her. There could be consequences to her and her family, too. And it's not like telling Weiss would suddenly cause her to have feelings towards her. She needed to know Weiss might harbor such feelings before she could do something as daring as confessing hers. Weiss had made some friendly overtures lately, but as much as Myrtenaster would have liked to read romantic intent into them, she didn't really believe it was there.

* * *

The ride eventually came to an end, and the girls exited the taxis by the side gate to the academy. Myrtenaster stood by while Weiss paid. The other half of the team had left by the time she was done, but Ruby and Crescent Rose were still waiting for them. The campus grounds were extensive, and they still had a considerable walk to reach their room.

"You can go ahead, Ruby," Weiss said. "I think I will have a little stroll."

"Really? I thought you were tired."

"I think I need to clear my head a little before I can sleep."

"Oh, okay, we'll be off then," Ruby said.

"But we won't be long, so no funny business," Weiss called after them.

Crescent turned to give them a smirk that made Myrtenaster worry. "You two enjoy your moonlight walk," she said. "But no funny business!"

"I have no idea what she could possibly mean by that," Weiss said, mostly to herself.

The deserted grand campus bathed in moonlight was a fairly romantic setting. Myrtenaster wondered if maybe she should point that out. "Do you really think they'd get up to something? It's so late I think they just want to go to sleep."

"I know," Weiss said. "I was just... never mind."

"Very well."

They remained silent for a while, Weiss walking aimlessly and Myrtenaster following her lead. With just the two of them here she dared to walk by her side rather than a step behind. Was that the extent of her courage?

"Are you really okay with the situation with Blake?" It was a fair question, but Myrtenaster knew she only asked it because she didn't have the nerve to ask the question she really wanted an answer to.

"I still have my doubts, but do I really have a choice? If I made an issue out of it, I think it would be the end of the team. I really think Ruby might kick me out."

"I'm sure it wouldn't come to that. But I suppose that if it did, you would not want to have to explain it to your father."

"That's not it. This isn't about his approval, it's about me making this work. And like you pointed out yesterday: if I hadn't learned about her past, I'd never have thought there was anything wrong with Blake. She might have been cool and distant, at least to me, but she was a perfectly satisfactory teammate. Perhaps she still can be. The fact that she left the White Fang because she no longer accepted their ways shows she's better than that riffraff." Weiss looked down for a moment. "And Ruby likes her."

"Is that important? You said yourself that Ruby is naive."

"She is my partner and our team leader, and I should have faith in her judgment of her teammates' character."

With a sudden insight Myrtenaster realized that Weiss was worried that if Ruby's was wrong to accept Blake, then maybe she was also wrong to accept Weiss. Myrtenaster wasn't sure how to comfort Weiss without calling her out on that worry. Weiss was being uncommonly open with her, and Myrtenaster didn't want to put her on the defensive.

"Perhaps this is where Blake feels like she can be free of her past and find her own way. I'm sure there are many people here who think Beacon Academy is their chance to have a fresh start."

"If she wants to turn over a new leaf, I shouldn't stand in her way." Weiss fell quiet for a moment. When she spoke again, her voice was softer, contemplative. "She's only seventeen. How old was she when she joined the White Fang? Did she really understand what they stood for? I guess I can sympathize with supporting an organization you grew up in even if you don't completely accept everything they do."

"Do you perhaps see yourself in her?" It certainly seemed like Weiss was talking about her own situation.

"I wouldn't go that far. But I think we might be able to find... common ground, in the future." Weiss looked up to the starlit sky. "It's strange how such a regulated environment as a Huntsman Academy might signify freedom, but I'm not immune to the sentiment. Of course, Beacon has nothing on growing up in the Schnee Manor under the critical eye of my father."

"Is that why you are here? To reinvent yourself?"

"Do you think I have a need to?" Weiss adopted a haughty expression. "How can you improve on perfection?"

"I'm very sorry, Miss, I—"

"I'm kidding, Myrtenaster. I came here because there are goals I want to reach; and while here, I have realized that there are more things I need to improve on than I'd previously understood."

"If you say so."

"Myrtenaster, are you always going to revert to calling me 'Miss' when you think you have offended me? I've told you to call me Weiss."

"I'm sorry, Weiss."

"Please, don't apologize." Weiss looked away. "It's my fault you can't trust me."

"It's not like that, it's just a habit I find hard to break." She knew it was a lie, and she suspected Weiss knew it, too. It broke her heart to admit it, but as much as she wanted to believe Weiss's current friendly attitude would last, she couldn't quite bring herself to trust it. There had been times when she'd thought the were getting close, only for Weiss to turn cold again. That might have been her father's influence, though.

"If you say so."

Awkward silence descended on them. They walked for a couple of dozen more paces until Weiss stopped. Myrtenaster stopped beside her. After a moment Weiss turned to face her, her expression as uncertain and vulnerable as Myrtenaster had ever seen it.

"Myrtenaster. Do you like me?"

Weiss's face was like carved marble in the pale moonlight, but there was worry in her eyes, fear at what the answer might be. Myrtenaster's heart started hammering in her chest and she felt a tightness in her limbs. Could this really be happening? She tried to school her expression and not let her nervousness show.

"I..." Myrtenaster's voice was a croak, and she needed to swallow before she tried again. "Yes. I like you, Weiss."

Weiss let out a breath Myrtenaster hadn't realized she was holding. "Good. I... I was worried you only ever saw me as your employer."

"You mean more to me than that," Myrtenaster said, perhaps a little too rapidly. "I might have become your Aegis because my parents signed a contract with yours, but you have become very important to me. I wouldn't... I would like to remain with you, always."

Weiss's beautiful face was illuminated by an enchanting smile. It was all the more attractive for being so rare, and for being directed solely at her. Myrtenaster could feel the answering smile blossoming on her lips. Her head was light, and there was a flutter that started in her chest and spread down in her belly, and lower still.

"I'd like that, too." Weiss said. She looked shyly to the side. It was charming, and so unlike her normal persona. "So, Myrtenaster. Can we be... friends?"

"Friends?" The word seemed incomprehensible.

"Yes, friends. For a while now I have wanted our relationship to be more than just a contractual association, but I wasn't sure how you'd feel about it. All the other girls on the team are much closer to their Aegises than that, and I'd like us to be, too. So, do you think we can be friends?"

Myrtenaster looked into Weiss's shining eyes and carefully schooled her expression again so Weiss couldn't see the hurt in hers.

"Yes, Weiss," Myrtenaster said with a smile that concealed a heart as broken as the moon in the sky. "I'd love for us to be friends."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** That's it for Volume 1. I will take a break to plot out the next volume and hopefully build up a buffer again. The story isn't over yet, and _Not Forever_ will return.


End file.
